An Aussie grandmother almost lost her leg after going for a morning swim when a bacterial infection from the beach entered her body through a scratched mosquito bite.
Celeste Stirrup, 52, went swimming at Bulcock Beach on the Sunshine Coast with her granddaughter last month.
A few days after her swim, she noticed a 20cm lump on her thigh that became incredibly painful.
‘I broke out in a fever and started feeling unwell so grabbed a cold washer, put the aircon on and went to bed early,’ she told the Courier Mail.
Celeste Stirrup, 52, went swimming at Bulcock Beach on the Sunshine Coast with her granddaughter last month with a scratch on her leg from a mosquito bite
A few days after her swim, she noticed a 20cm lump on her thigh that became incredibly painful
Ms Stirrup woke at about 2am and was unable to shake the fever.
‘That’s when the blisters started. It almost felt like a volcano erupting under my leg,’ she said.
The first big blister popped, causing a large wound on her leg, and she rushed to Sunshine Coast University Hospital to have it dressed.
Ms Stirrup was all alone when the surgeon sent her for a CT scan and told her she’d be ‘raced off for an immediate amputation’ if they found a particular type of bacteria.
Ms Stirrup has warned Aussies not to swim with open wounds
Fortunately, the infection-causing bacteria was identified as Cellulitis, and soon after, medical staff assured her that amputation was not required.
She stayed in the hospital until February 6th, then had surgery ten days later to remove the dead tissue. In a few weeks, she will go in for a skin graft surgery.
A nurse told her it was the fourth case they had seen on the Sunshine Coast in the past two weeks.
Ms Stirrup hasn’t been able to work for five weeks and said it felt like living in a ‘crazy nightmare’.
‘This shouldn’t happen to anybody. If you have a bite or a cut you shouldn’t go for a swim.’