Although it has been called “extremely rare”, the bacterial infection that caused Georgia college student Aimee Copeland to lose her leg last week has now been found in a South Carolina woman who recently gave birth to twins.
36-year old Lana Kuykendall had to be rushed back to the hospital after being discharged because she had severe pain in her leg. Doctors found an unusual spot on the back of her leg, and it was spreading rapidly. Known as necrotizing fasciitis–the bacteria which also causes strep throat–the disease was showing signs of spreading elsewhere on her body and has required four surgeries to contain. She is in critical condition today in South Carolina.
Her husband, Darren, says he talks to her every day in an effort to keep her fighting the bacteria and is devastated that his wife has barely seen their newborns.
“I tell her how good she’s doing, and how strong she is, and that she’s a fighter. She can make it,” he said. Kuykendall has been stabilized but has a long way to go towards recovery.
Aimee Copeland, who had to have her leg amputated last week as a result of the bacteria, is still in critical condition but is beginning to show signs of improvement after a stint in a hyperbaric chamber, which is helping restore her circulation. She was zip-lining over Little Tallapoosa River in Georgia last week when the line snapped, cutting her leg open. After receiving staples to close the gash, she returned to the hospital complaining of severe pain and was given antibiotics, to no avail. Several surgeries have now been performed to keep the bacteria–which lives in warm water and is usually the cause of diarrhea or vomiting–from spreading to other parts of her body.