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Jane Haley was hospitalized after experiencing jaw and neck pain following a case of strep throat
She was later placed in a medically induced coma and diagnosed with Group A Streptococcus that had progressed into toxic shock syndrome
After suffering painful tissue damage to her hands and feet, she required limb amputations in order to save her life
A woman is opening up about the “devastating” illness that led to a live-saving quadruple amputation.
In June, Jane Haley — an accountant from Alberta, Canada — came down with a case of strep throat. She took antibiotics for seven to 10 days and was starting to feel better. However, just two months later her health took a turn for the worse.
“Towards the end of August I started to have pain in my jaw and cheek and then in the left side of my neck,” she told Kennedy News and Media via The Sun. “I thought it was just my glands swelling up to take care of an infection or whatever was happening in my jaw.”
Haley initially thought she was experiencing a flare up of her TMJ disorder, a condition that causes pain in the jaw joint and muscles. But when it progressed to neck swelling and vomiting, the 41-year-old sought medical advice and was immediately rushed to the hospital on August 24.
“That was the last thing I remember,” she recalled. “One minute I was fine and the next minute I wasn’t fine and I was rushed to ICU.”
Kennedy News & Media
Jane Haley after her quadruple limb amputation
Haley’s heart rate and blood pressure plummeted and she was placed in a medically induced coma. There, she was diagnosed with Group A Streptococcus, which had progressed into toxic shock syndrome.
Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a rare, but life-threatening condition that develops from toxins within the body. It occurs in only 1 out of every 100,000 people, but can cause organ damage, shock, and even death in up to 70% of cases, according to the CDC.
Haley’s health declined quickly and she suffered from a fever, seizures and organ failure. Photos show that her hands and feet also started to turn black from tissue damage.
“It was devastating at the time to see my hands,” she explained. “My feet hadn’t changed color at the time so I had a bit of hope that I would still walk. It took only two weeks for my hands to look how they looked in the photos, it happened rapidly.’
She was ultimately told that saving her life meant she needed her limbs amputated.
On September 29, after spending a month in the hospital, Haley was airlifting to another hospital to undergo a double hand amputation on October 1. And less than two weeks later, she had her legs amputated below the knee.
Kennedy News & Media
Jane Haley’s hands after suffering tissue damage
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By that point, Haley admitted that she was “desperate” to have the amputations because she was in so much pain.
“It was disgusting that the bottom of my foot was black and it looked almost like an insole. The dead skin was separating from the old skin, the pain was constant,” she told the outlet. “It started out as a little crater [on my foot] and this got bigger and bigger [until the dead skin] could flap at me when I flexed my foot.
“It was so extremely painful that I thought anything had to be better than this. I was ready to go and get this amputated,” she continued. “It was either save my life or save my limbs and the doctors chose to save my life. I’m happy that they made this decision as I’m still here to talk about it today.”
Haley is now in recovery, and her family has created a GoFundMe account to help cover her lengthy rehabilitation. She requires physical and mental health therapy, adaptive and mobility devices and eventually prosthetics to help her live independently.
“All I’m doing now is I’m in survival mode and I’m looking forward [to my future],” she shared. “I’m happy to be living each day and approaching things that people take for granted every day. I’ve had several moments where I’ve broken down but I think for the most part I am a strong person. I don’t like to look back and say ‘what if?’”
“If I put myself in this mindset it brings down my whole day,” she added.
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Haley’s now hoping that sharing her story will raise awareness about the severity of her “scary” infection and getting treatment early because it could happen to anyone.
“This could have happened to anyone and it’s a silent killer. It’s a miracle I was on the way to the hospital, as this could have happened at home,” she told the outlet. “I want people to be more aware of what this is and how serious it can be. If this reaches out to people and even saves just one life, it’s worth it.”
Read the original article on People