FAQ :)

I know everyone has questions about Scott. I will try to answer them the best I can and leave out the medical jargon, I love so much. :)

What caused this?

Scott was diagnosed with Necrotizing Fasciitis, also known as Flesh-eating bacteria. It is rare and although I hate to say it; extremely life threatening. Necrotizing Fasciitis can be caused by many different types of bacteria. A culture was performed on Scott's leg and the results are not back yet. We don't know which specific bacteria is the culprit and it doesn't change anything at this point anyway. Scott is currently on three different antibiotics. Each antibiotic has the ability to kill ALL the bacteria that could have caused this. The most common and generally most damaging/dangerous is Streptococcus pyogenes-the same bug that can cause strep throat. From preliminary reports we know that this is NOT the bacteria that infected Scott. This is really good news.

Could it have been prevented?

The best way for me to answer this question is by asking all of you if you can prevent yourself form getting a cold, strep throat, or the stomach flu? The answer is no. Of course, we can say that we can take vitamins, or wash our hands a hundred times a day, but no one I know has NEVER had any of these. It just isn't possible.

The difference though, is that necrotizing fasciitis is a disease that thrives on opportunity. Generally "healthy" people are very unlikely to get this. The doctor said that unfortunately Scott had the perfect environment for this to happen. He had compromised blood flow to his legs, he had his liver impairment that made his body more susceptible to harbor infection and made it more difficult to fight it off, he had a way for the infection to get in his body due to the recurring cellulitis. He was susceptible and he got it.

Is this the same infection he has had in his legs before?

No. Scott's previous leg infections have been caused by cellulitis-a common and generally treatable skin infection. Cellulitis and Necrotizing Fasciitis are very different. One does not cause another. Although it is believed that the cellulitis did contribute to the environment in Scott's legs that allowed Necortizing Fasciitis to work its way in, it did not cause it. This is a completely new infection.
Necrotizing Fasciitis comes on quickly and does damage quickly. It generally only takes hours for the infection to do its nasty work and by then the damage has been done. It is not uncommon for an amputation of the affected body part to be needed when Necrotizing Fasciitis is present.

Did Scott know he was going to have his leg amputated prior to surgery?

No-no one did. It wasn't mentioned at all prior to his surgery. Scott was already asleep (under anesthesia) when the doctor saw the extent of the damage and came to talk to Janiece about the options. We were all so nervous and heartbroken to tell Scott the news when he woke up. He came out of surgery around 10pm but was not awake enough to be told and understand the outcome of the surgery.

Did Scott's liver problem cause this?

Again, no, but similar to what I wrote above, it contributed to his susceptibility of getting this disease and contributes to his ability to fight off infection. His liver impairment has manifested in some of his lab results. Namely, his platelets have been lower than normal requiring multiple blood infusions and platelet/plasma infusions.

What is his prognosis?

He is headed in the right direction but in the doctors words "He is not out of the woods yet." As I wrote earlier his lactate on admission to IMC was 9-basically he was full of infection and very sick. Today his lactate level was 2.8. This tells us that the infection is dying (THANK GOD). His doctor felt confident this morning that there was not any more infection in his leg. We literally have to take one day at a time.

How long will he be in the hospital?

If all goes as planned he will be in the hospital for 2-3 weeks.

What about getting a liver transplant?

His leg infections have prevented his from being a good candidate for a liver transplant for months now. Once he is healed and infection free we hope he can be listed for a liver. In many ways this is an answer to prayers. We will meet with the transplant team soon to find out more details and time lines.

Anything else? Leave any questions in the comments!