ATLANTA — An Atlanta woman's leg was amputated after contracting a rare flesh-eating bacteria while on vacation - and now she's trying to raise awareness of the risks.
Jennifer Barlow was vacationing in the Bahamas when she contracted a bacteria named necrotizing fasciitis. The disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, attacks the body tissues, causing them to decay.
Barlow believes the bacteria entered through an open wound while she was in the water in the Bahamas. She said when she came out, her body began shutting down.
"When I got home from the Bahamas, I was feeling really sick over the course of about five days - and I just didn't know what was wrong with me," she said.
By the sixth day, she described being in excruciating pain and her knee "ballooning up." After being dismissed at the ER, she went septic and needed urgent care.
"I went into a coma for 10 days and I underwent about 15 surgeries somewhere to save my life," she said, adding that her kidneys had shut down and a terrible fever.
"By the grace of God - I came out of my coma," she said.
However, her leg was not what she remembered.
"I woke up with my leg looking like a zombie leg," she said, "or like a dog had just got ahold of it and rippled me to shreds. It was really gross and terrifying."
She said trying to save her leg was painful - so she decided to amputate.
"I just was in so much pain, I couldn't take it anymore," she said. "And I was just like, I would rather you take the leg so I can start my healing and a healing journey."
She says she's now excited about her prosthetic journey and educating people about how an untreated bacteria infection can force people to make life-changing decisions.
"There are bacteria out there that can get into your bloodstream and that when you're feeling like, you know, really sick and stuff, you need to go get seen ASAP," the 33-year-old said.
This year alone, Balow has undergone over 20 surgeries and has lost her right leg to the infection. She is working on getting a prosthetic leg now and has an online fundraiser set up.
She had hoped to become a model or actress and actually just finished work for an indie film before her vacation. Though her dreams may look different, she doesn't want to give up on them.
"You know, being disabled doesn't mean that I can't be a model anymore or that I'm ugly or that I'm unwanted," she said. "I would love to be in modeling or acting and be an advocate for the disabled in film."
Atlanta woman's leg amputated after fighting rare flesh-eating disease in Bahamas
