On Labor Day I had to have emergency surgery due to necrotizing faciitis, in laymen’s terms flesh eating disease down in my nether region. Was in the hospital for over a week and had colostomy surgery to put a bag on me.
It has been a long recovery for the massive wound to heal. It’s fully closed but the new skin is pretty sensitive. I had the colostomy surgery reversed and the bag removed recently. So still on the mend. Considering 1 in 5 people don’t survive this disease I feel lucky.
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Oh no! That’s awful! Prayers for your mending to continue.
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Holy Smokes, glad you are on the mend! That’s quite rare isn’t it?
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It is somewhat rare, however not as rare as one would like it to be 
Unfortunately strep (and sometimes staph) infections, which is what this is usually caused by, seem to be (or maybe we’re just hearing more about it), somewhat on the rise, IMO possibly due to the overabundant use of antibiotics through the decades; although that may be more likely causing the rise of staph infections.
I’m an RN, but I haven’t worked in a couple decades as a nurse.
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Very sorry to hear this news, Joe. Hang in there, my friend. This is a good place to take your mind off of things and focus on something that makes you happy. Prayers for a quick recovery.
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Yes it’s rare. They said the big contributing factor was my diabetes
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They had all sorts of doctors around me including center for disease control folks
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But as ziacat mentioned it’s getting less rare all the time
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Wishing you the very best as you mend. Thank you for sharing your difficulties; may they soon be in the past.
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Wow. Glad you survived that and not wearing a bag anymore…especially with diabetes. Like @Ziacat, I am a former RN but haven’t worked in decades. Used to work SICU. Keep on mending!
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@Zicat, Your statement of overuse of antibiotics is right on! I’ve attended multiple conferences where the concern of growing bacterial resistance is discussed…scary! These bacteria can adapt and become to resistant to multiple antibiotics, then transfer this resistance to other bacteria! Guess that why I’m so cautious of antibiotic use, over-vaccination and the use of so many drugs for every little complaint. Sorry…it’s a sore point for me.
@joebig you’ve certainly been through the mill (as they say!). Diabetes is so common and predisposes individuals to so many issues. Sounds like you’ve had good care; certainly hope your recovery return continues without delay!
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I’m with you on overuse, so much so that I’ve always avoided even the hand sanitizers with antibacterials (other than alcohol).
@nanc9354, shout out to RN’s! I worked psychiatric, but got attacked (not seriously hurt), and finally said, enough. But I keep my license current.
@joebig I agree with Tah, this site is a healthy, fun distraction from our troubles! Stay strong!
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Wow! Sounds like you’ve been to hell and back with this, and are thankfully well on your way to a complete recovery. Welcome back to the forum, Joe!
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@joebig Man! I can’t imagine! That’s scary! Glad to hear you’re on the mend finally! Best wishes for a full and complete recovery! 
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Thanks for all the well wishes!!!
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@Ziacat, my sister, now retired, was a physician (not a psychiatrist) at a mid level psychiatric hospital in Oregon. Working in those conditions can be taxing! Glad both you and she are now retired!
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Thanks! I didn’t officially retire, I only worked as an RN for about 7 years before I decided to call it quits, kind of a shame because I have my BSN, but I just got completely burned out. And then I increased my time coaching figure skating which was my true love.
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Please keep us updated!! You have been through A LOT.
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Wow, 5 months of pain, patience, surgeries, learning how to care for your colostomy & wound, on top of managing life with diabetes. I too am a nurse and my son a type 1diabetic, so I get it. but, it’s very cool that you now have the energy to share with us. I hope you are 2 steps forward every day!
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Thanks, I couldn’t have done it without my wife and son. My wife dressed the wound twice a day and my son helped me with changing the colostomy bag and blowouts which you can imagine wasn’t fun for him.
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