Michigan Woman Has Flesh-Eating Bacteria Aimee Copeland Survived
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WXYZ-TV/ABC News(DETROIT) — A Detroit-area woman is fighting for her life against the same, rare flesh-eating disease that nearly killed Georgia graduate student Aimee Copeland.
Crystal Spencer, 33, is in serious condition at Detroit Receiving Hospital after she was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, which is more commonly known as flesh-eating bacteria syndrome. The quickly progressing infection is known for its sudden onset and the speed with which it spreads across layers of skin and subcutaneous tissues.
Spencer’s husband, Jeff, told ABC News affiliate WXYZ-TV that his wife, who had been hospitalized since June 30, has already had a part of her midsection removed, which he says amounts to the size of a small watermelon.
“They only give her a 20 to 30 percent chance to pull out of this, not even to make this,” Jeff Spencer said. “The surgeon keeps going in and cleaning it and cleaning it. But they’re saying it could go either way.”
Crystal Spencer entered the hospital days before Copeland was released from a hospital more than 700 miles away after she fought an uphill battle against the same infection.
After 49 days, Copeland on Monday left an Atlanta-area hospital, where she had her left leg, right foot and both hands amputated in order to save her life.
The 24-year-old contracted the virus from hydrophila bacteria, which is typically found in warm waters, when she fell from a broken zipline along the Tallapoosa River near the south end of the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia on May 1.
Jeff Spencer told WXYZ that he believes his wife contracted the infection while she was at a different Detroit hospital, where she recently had surgery to remove an abscess from her leg. Crystal Spencer suffers from type 2 diabetes.
“They’re saying it’s a long road but I’m trying to think for the better that hopefully she does make it,” he said. “She’s alert but she’s not to the point where she can talk or really do much.”
“It’s just hard at night to do this,” he added. “I’m keeping my hopes up, I’m praying and have family do what they can.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio