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The woman, 40-year-old Jo Rogers, may have been bitten by a tick while on vacation in Grand Lake, Oklahoma, in early July. Four days after her trip, she experienced flulike symptoms, and was hospitalized a day later, according to CNN.
Doctors tested her for West Nile virus, meningitis and other infections before finally diagnosing her with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which is caused by the bacteria Rickettsia rickettsia and transmitted by ticks. Rogers' limbs turned black and blue, and doctors amputated her arms and legs below the knees and elbows, CNN said.
Although it happens rarely, amputation can be necessary in cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever if a patient is not treated early enough, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious-disease specialist and a senior associate at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Center for Health Security. The antibiotic used to treat the infection works best if it's started before the fifth day of a person's illness, according to the Centers for [Disease] Control and Prevention.
The bacteria attacks the cells lining the blood vessels and provokes an immune response that leads to septic shock. A sobering reminder to outdoorsmen to check for ticks when returning.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 15 2015, @12:54PM
Might as well die.
Bet they charged her for this "help"
Worse than the disease.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 15 2015, @01:49PM
I was thinking the same thing. One arm or leg I could handle, but all four, no!
It's not only losing the ability to be able to the the obvious big tasks, but think of all the little things that we take for granted that she suddenly can't do anymore: scratch your nostril, hold a knife and fork, press an itty-bitty button on a remote, pull up your pants, throw a ball, paddle a canoe, tie your shoe, hold a mug, do your buttons, press CTRL-ALT-DEL, write a note, carry a handful of plums, drive, scratch or wipe your butt, brush and floss your teeth. Most of those can be re-learned through training and prosthetics, but I'm too old and impatient for that, hopefully she is stronger.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 15 2015, @03:42PM
Reading horror stories like this make me think that I need to have a living will drawn up with a list of conditions under which the doctors should just let me die on the operating table. Situations like this make it scary to live anywhere that fights a patients right to end their own life.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 15 2015, @05:17PM
I used to think the same as your sentiment. But, then, I wrote a living will right before going in for a cancer surgery with a 5-20% mortality rate (from the surgery itself)-- what I wrote leaned a lot more on the resuscitate side than my earlier self would have written. When death is that close, it becomes a lot harder to write the words, "let me die."
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 15 2015, @05:42PM
Different people have different values. I would rather die any sort of horrific death than become a burden on the people that care about me the most. Better to have them lament that I am gone than lament that I will need 24-hour care for decades.
Let the next generation live their own lives. When it is my turn, I will get out of their way.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 15 2015, @07:20PM
Plus if you're a Christian or Buddhist or Hindu, dying a bit sooner shouldn't be considered a big problem at all.
Making extraordinary efforts to prolong your mortal life would also be strange. Stay alive if you can still do some good in this world. But once you're a big net cost instead of a net benefit, I don't see why it should be considered a bad thing to be allowed to die if you wanted to.