LUCY Slawson initially put her swelling down to eating too much on holiday – until she ended up paralysed.
In reality, the 21-year-old had been bitten by a mosquito.
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“My life has never ever been the same,” the Lincolnshire lass said.
Lucy now has non-epileptic seizures and difficulty walking, as a result of the mosquito bite and an underlying infection.
The business management student was on holiday in Antalya, Turkey when she first noticed a rash, mainly on her hands and feet.
By the third day of her trip, her body started swelling.
“I thought, ‘damn, I’ve gained so much weight,” she said. “I had literally tripled in size.
“But I just thought maybe my body hadn’t adjusted well to the heat and change in routine.”
She also had a soft spot for ice cream, which she would treat herself too often.
“I was eating a bit more than usual,” she said.
“They had these Mars bars ice-creams and I was like, ‘do you know what? I love these’.”
Despite the swelling and rash, she didn’t think it was anything serious and continued to enjoy her holiday.
After returning to the UK, Lucy started to lose her vision while driving home.
Assuming it was simply exhaustion from her early morning flight, she pulled over in Sheffield to rest.
But when she woke up, her rash was burning, and her legs had turned blue.
At a nearby pharmacy, she was told to call 999.
Rushed to Northern General Hospital and later transferred to Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Lucy’s condition deteriorated rapidly.
She slipped into a semi-comatose state for a week.
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“The doctors and nurses knew I was declining, but they didn’t know why,” Lucy said.
“My body shut down because it didn’t know how to fight the infection. When I woke up, I had lost all functions.”
Upon regaining consciousness, Lucy was unable to walk, talk, or use her arms.
Doctors eventually diagnosed her with chronic fatigue and functional neurological disorders, likely triggered by the mosquito bite.
Lucy later learned that a recent Strep A infection had also weakened her immune system, which may have contributed to the severity of her reaction.
What is Strep A?
Group A streptococcal (GAS) infection is caused by strains of the streptococcus pyogenes bacterium
Group A streptococcal (GAS) infection is caused by strains of the streptococcus pyogenes bacterium.
The bacteria can live on hands or the throat for long enough to allow easy spread between people through sneezing, kissing and skin contact.
Most infections cause mild illnesses such as “strep throat” or skin infections.
It can also cause scarlet fever and in the majority of cases this clears up with antibiotics.
On rare occasions the bacteria can get deeper into the body – including infecting the lungs and bloodstream. It is known as invasive GAS (iGAS) and needs urgent treatment as this can be serious and life-threatening.
A week before going on holiday, Lucy visited her GP with cold-like symptoms.
She says she later learned she tested positive for Strep A, which is believed to have weakened her immune system.
“I’m sick of not being able to do simple things like go up and down stairs,” she says.
“Losing my driving license was gut-wrenching because I’d worked so hard to get it.”
While her recovery has been slow, Lucy is making progress.
She now has a full-time care team and is able to walk around the block and even return to pole dancing, a hobby she loved before becoming ill.
The bacteria can live on hands or the throat for long enough to allow easy spread between people through sneezing, kissing and skin contact.
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