From a post on ToxLaw.com on this subject –
So, let us see, … we have been saying for a very long time that the pool of people with compromised immune systems is MUCH larger than superficial reading would have one believe. It is amazing that more cases like this poor woman’s have not been occurring, or have they just not gotten coverage?
Steroids, antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, infections, radiation, etc…all suppress immune function.
Deadly Infection Almost Destroys Woman’s Face
By Ashley Neglia
If treated early, a routine sinus infection may cause uncomfortable pressure, nasal congestion and often makes a patient feel generally miserable. For the most part, however, sinus infections don’t leave people near-death, unless, of course, you happen to be Sue Carlisle.
It was October 2006, and Carlisle was suffering from the symptoms of a sinus infection. The 49-year-old had experienced similar infections in the past and assumed that the steroids she had been previously prescribed would be enough to get her back on her feet. However, when she went to the doctor, the diagnosis was more dire than she ever imagined. Carlisle’s face was infected with mucormycosis, a rare and deadly infection that can affect the sinuses, brain or lungs, reports ABC News.
Mucormycosis primarily occurs in people with immune disorders, such as AIDS or cancer patients, and is caused by common fungi found in soil, decaying vegetation and moldy bread, according to the National Institute of Health. Most people are exposed to this kind of fungi on a daily basis, but those with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to infection.
In Carlisle’s case, the repeated use of steroids to treat prior sinus infections had weakened her immune system to such a degree that she could not fight off the fungus, which resulted in mucormycosis. In most patients, it takes two to three days for mucormycosis to travel through the bloodstream and to the brain, which causes a patient’s mortality rate to rise to 80 percent. However, in Carlisle’s case, the infection stayed in her face, causing it to become so swollen and infected that her cheek eventually burst, leaving a crater, according to ABC News.
Because early surgical intervention and the removal of all dead and infected tissue can dramatically improve a patient’s chances for survival, doctors wanted to completely remove Carlisle’s cheek up to her eyelid. However, she refused to undergo the invasive surgery, forcing doctors to take a more conservative approach. For the next two months, doctors performed nearly 30 surgeries to remove small amounts of infected tissue, reports ABC News.
After the surgeries and approximately 60 visits to a hyperbaric chamber to kill off the rest of the infection, Carlisle began to grow healthy facial tissue. Her face was still intact, but she now faced the possibility of losing her upper jaw because the infection had destroyed most of her jawbone and palate. She couldn’t open her mouth, let alone speak or eat.
Doctors initially gave Carlisle a temporary false palate. However, because she had to hold it in place with her tongue, she still could not open her mouth. It wasn’t until 20 months later, when a team of medical experts developed an entirely new implant for Carlisle that could stay in place with magnets, that she regained enough functionality to speak and chew small pieces of soft food.
While the infection is long gone and Carlisle is now healthy, lasting complications, such as the inability to chew anything that isn’t soft, a limited sense of taste and no sense of smell, remain.
Click below to watch an interview with Sue Carlisle.
Video courtesy of ABC News.
Katy's Exposure 