How a scratch from a swimming pool left a dad fighting for his life
A Melbourne dad is lucky to be alive after he picked up a deadly flesh-eating bacteria from a scratch on his leg at a Fiji swimming pool.
Days after returning from his family holiday, Adrian Nandapi was lying in a coma.
The 45-year-old had scratched his shin at a hotel pool, and by the next day his leg had become swolen.
His wound had somehow become infected with a bacteria that doctors say may have been picked up from the pool, beach, or garden.
Back home, he began to have trouble walking, but Mr Nandapi had no idea of the seriousness of his condition.
“My body went into septic shock and I was wheeled into the Northern Hospital’s Emergency Department for life saving treatment, which took place through various surgeries over the next few days,” he wrote in an emotional Facebook post.
“In ICU, the [doctors] informed my family that [doctors] and Surgeons determined I suffered Necrotizing Fascitiis, a proven fatal bacterial infection. This has a high mortality rate with one in every four patients not surviving.
“[Doctors] were not expecting me to come out of ICU. My level of fitness and overall good health started the fight back,” he wrote.
Following multiple surgeries, Mr Nandapi is now back on his feet and has even returned to work.
”I am alive today due to the passionate, empathetic and the outstanding professionalism shown to my family and I, [and because of] the wonderful medical team at the Northern Hospital in Epping,” he wrote.
”The Northern Hospital’s magnificent medical team saved my life, and in doing so, you saved my wife, my children, our family and friends from a world of pain. Thank you.”
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