A little over ten years ago I contracted the flesh eating bacteria, the same disease that Aimee Copeland and a couple other people around the country happen to be recovering from right now. Suffice it to say, my experience was nothing short of a living nightmare. Fortunately, I came through on the other side with all my limbs â and life â intact. I write this not to make any comparison to what Aimee, or anyone else is going through today, but as a reminder of what it took to make me gain some perspective that made me into a much healthier, happier person.
Before you read any further, you should knowâŚIâm not dishing any tough workouts or writing about good-for-you foods in this post. Nothing will circle back directly to fitness directlyâŚbut this post has everything to do with why itâs important to me, and why it should be for you.
For those of you new to my blog, I make no claims to having been a lifelong healthy person. In fact, Iâm nothing short of a reformed couch potato with a fitness bug who got a second chance. If I had never gotten sick those years ago, I donât think Iâd be taking the time to write about how important it is to appreciate your health, or how quickly your life can turn on dime if youâre not taking care of yourself.
Medically termed necrotizing fasciitis, the flesh eating bacteria â from what Iâve been told by the doctors who worked on me â is a bacterium that mutates inside the host. In my case, I contracted it through a paper cut on the middle finger of my left hand â right over the knuckle. It just wouldnât heal. Then one day I wasnât feeling right, and the rest is history. The bacteria that wormed its way into my finger was strep â the very same bacteria that you and I come into contact with many times each and every day.
To make a long story short, I was able to get by with a few surgeries and the removal of gangrenous tissue along the left side of my body. I was scheduled for surgery to have my left arm removed, but miraculously, it wasnât necessary after all.
Lessons in Gratitude
I remember my mom coming into my hospital room a couple days after I was out of intensive care. She worked in the same hospital and made regular visits to check on me. My youngest sister was there visiting when my mom came in sounding particularly chipper. In retrospect, I know she was just trying to keep a brave face and make me feel better, but at that moment I was really angry that she was happy and I was lying in a bed unable to get my body under control. At the time, I had surgery-related fluid retention that swelled the left side of my body, I also had no use of my left arm, and â not that this means a thing now â hadnât washed my hair in close to three weeks.
So, in comes my mom with a tray of food, hoping Iâll eat something and my sister on-hand to wash my horribly knotted hair. Suddenly I shouted, âI would never be here if it werenât for you!â  You see, I got sick just before Christmas and was home for a few days. My mom insisted I wait to go into the hospital until after the holidays so I would âget better care.â   As it turns out, my motherâs hesitation to bring me into the hospital was probably the best thing that could have happened.  Deep down, I believe she knew I was gravely ill, but wanted me to see a surgeon she knew and trusted. It was a Hail Mary play and she went with her gut. Her instincts paid off. This incredible surgeon was able to diagnose me within five minutes. Had I seen another surgeon who might have taken the âwait and seeâ approach, or perhaps made a trip into a different hospital closer to my parentsâ home, I might not be here at all. Full disclosure: another patient was seen at the same hospital on the same day with same condition and did not make it. Bottom line: my momâs decisions for me to be admitted through outpatient care, not ER and to request a surgeon who she knew would be on duty worked.
Nonetheless, I watched as my momâs eyes were washed over with tears. Without saying a word, she left the room crying. All my sister could say was, âNice going, Traci. You made Mom cry.â My sister went after her to ask her to come back. Amazingly, she did. I think I said I was sorry (at least I hope). I felt terrible almost immediately, but couldnât even give her a hug.
A few weeks later, l went back home to Minneapolis, which is where I lived at the time. Â Things started to return to normal. Several months later I was nearly fully recovered and started running thanks to the persuasion of a friend who convinced me to run a 10K. In no way did I have a âwoe is meâ attitude, but I kind of felt like what happened wasnât a big deal, and if it happened again, Iâd be just fine. Â My new hobby was running, so I continued running mid-distance races, between 5 and 10 kilometers. Â My left arm atrophied significantly, but I was now able to raise my hand over my head with no pain â something I thought would never be able to do after the surgeries.
Youâd think I âd have learned gratitude by recognizing the quick decisions of the doctors who worked on me, the nurses who were at my side every time I moved (literally), my amazing family who had me on prayer chains each and every day, or simply by leaving the hospital with my life. Yes, I was grateful for all of those things, but still didnât have the gratitude I needed in my life.
Then one day, about a year after I was sick, I decided to run the Walter Payton Sweetness 10K in Aurora, Illinois. By this time, I had moved to Chicago, living on the north side. Aurora was a long drive from my house, and I still have no idea why I choose to run that race over any number of races that were miles closer. The race started at 7:00am. I arrived about 30-minutes before the start, which for me is late. I felt flustered and quickly made my way to my pace group.
As I stood there thinking about me, me, me, a man lined up to my left side and a woman lined up to my right side. Neither of them seemed to know each other as there was no eye contact or conversationâŚjust me in the middle. As I gazed up from their feet, I caught a quick glimpse at both of them. I was astounded to see that neither of them had a left arm. That was my moment of gratitude.
These two people, who are still nameless to me, will forever be etched in my memory as the swift kick in the butt I needed to start seeing life in a different light. I donât know if I would have been mentally strong enough to pick up a hobby like running had I lost my arm, but here were these two people lined up next to me (who subsequently outran me, easily) who were probably just there because they enjoyed running or maybe liked to race.
Whatâs more, those two people kind of forced me to become a little introspective with why it was that I got sick in the first place.
Maybe I wasnât doing everything I could to be healthy?
Eating right, moving more and just living healthier is so easy for most of us to do, yet weâre inclined to make sacrifices or excuses (Iâll start tomorrow).
Itâs highly unlikely youâll ever contract the flesh eating bacteria. But some day something will happen to you. Maybe youâll break a bone, maybe youâll get a nasty sinus infection, maybe youâll develop something much direr (I hope not). Regardless, youâll wish you were healthier. Do something now to be healthier tomorrow. There is no better feeling than knowing youâve done your best today to prevent what could be coming your way in the future. Even if it's not preventable, there is nothing better than feeling good today. Nothing.
Very rarely are posts ever about me...I promise. In fact, they're usually kind of cool, useful and always healthy. Check me out on Facebook for some yummy-but-healthy recipes and exercise tips. I might even throw out a contest or two. You never know!  See you there. Traci
Really needed to hear this inspiration. Thanks for sharing this very personal story.
Great read Traci :) So proud of you and all the obstacles you have overcome. You are honestly one of my role models, not because you are my “big” sister, but because you have helped change my life and so many others with your wisdom, dedication and motivation. Love you!!! XO!
Nik
No! I’ve been a vegan for two years and I have tons of energy. Here are some tips:1. Make sure you don’t eat too many carbs if you’re feeinlg hungry. Opt for vegetables or fruits or nuts or something more filling. Or else you’ll find yourself feeinlg hungry.2. Know what vegetables are really good for you in terms of vitamins. For example, kale has tons of calcium, so you don’t even need milk. You could also get soy milk with calcium. Things like that are super easy to find using google.3. Get your protein! I don’t know if you cook your own meals but if you do, using recipes with tofu is a good choice. If you don’t want to do that or don’t like the taste of tofu, get some nuts like almonds and snack on them (but not too much!).-Those are my biggest tips but send me a message if you have any other questions! Good luck =)
Sure Glad you made it raise a glass for a toast to many many more Happy Healthy years you are a survior and a great inspiration and a truly Wonderful person
:-)
Wow,Traci.
Thanks so much for sharing this story. Just the kind of thing I needed to read this morning. Glad you made it through that ordeal. Can’t help but think that the people who lined up on either side of you at the race were guardian angels of some sort..gave me the chills. Very inspiring!
Thanks, Bob! I’m glad you found inspiration from the story. It’s the kind of thing I will remember when I get ticked off about the small things…it could always be worse!