04 February 2024 , 07:00
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A Texas mother has been left with no choice but to ask for money through an online fundraiser as a flesh-eating bacteria threatened to take her life.
The day before her 36th birthday, Jessica Lailson, of San Antonio, Texas, cut herself on a rusty metal sign. What seemed to be a small scratch sustained on Easter Sunday, quickly progressed to a flesh-eating bacteria called necrotizing fasciitis, and before the day was out, she had gangrene.
The prognosis was damning. Doctors didn't expect her to make it through the first 48 hours, and when she did, they anticipated her losing her arm to the disease from the tiny cut.
University Health Hospital performed multiple operations, and after such a terrifying ordeal, Lailson was lucky to keep her right arm. The single mother was still desperately unwell, and her children were left terrified of what could become of their mom.
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Jessica Lailson, of San Antonio, Texas (GoFundme)Recovering while parenting her two children was challenging, and she was in the "worst pain I've ever experienced". A faulty wound vac, used to drain the terrifying wounds, left her in the emergency room with yet another infection just weeks later. The bacteria was back with a vengeance and the only solution was penicillin twice daily, for the foreseeable future.
"Another week in the hospital was not exactly what I had in mind but yet again I was able to pull through," she wrote on her Go Fund Me page.
Give money for Jessica's cause here.
The small cut quickly became sinister (GoFundme)"Someone is definitely watching over me. I'd like to think it's my mom and sister. I'm not the most religious person out there but after this whole ordeal I'd like to think I'm a bit more open to the idea. Or at least I want to be. I want to believe that we went through all this for a higher purpose."
Sadly, just before this traumatic ordeal began with a scratch, her employer of 13 years let Lailson go, leaving her family financially floundering. Insurance lapsing, she had to use every cent of her pension and savings to pay for her care and to try and stay afloat in the crisis. Recovery had not been easy, but Lailson, now able to work again is eager to get back on her feet with a new job as soon as her frantic applications bring something good.
She hopes this fundraiser could help keep a roof over her family's head. Her horrifying wounds were traumatising to say the least.
She couldn't look at her own wounds (GoFundme)"Throughout this whole ordeal I never once looked at my wound, I would literally ask for a blindfold, because I thought it would deter me from moving forward and possibly traumatsze me. I would turn away during my appointments and dressing changes.
"Now I am trying to embrace my battle scars, mostly because they will forever be a part of me. Luckily the hospital staff took pictures and I am now well enough to look at them. I hope this helps my children realise that we should never give up hope. We have to keep fighting through hard times even if it seems impossible," writes Lailson.