Shaninlea Visser

I would love to share my story with you and you can read up on me on my Facebook page “Shan Living Life”, through all of this I remain positive, determined and motivated to get my life back on track.

I became a quadruple amputee due to septicemia with DIC in January 2017. (Sepsis and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC), Sepsis and Amputations) I was bitten by a mongoose on January 15, 2017 and became ill on the night of January 17, 2017. (Sepsis and Animal Bites) I ended up in ICU on January 18, 2017, and was put on a ventilator and induced coma. While I was in the coma, my organs started shutting down and my family was called in as my body was not responding to anything. Eventually things started to take a turn for the better, this was around the 26th of January and my white blood cells started to climb but unfortunately the damage had already been done. I was brought out of the coma on January 30, 2017. My first procedure was on February 6th where I had both legs amputated below the knee and on February 8th I had both arms amputated below the elbow, from then I had to have reconstruction surgery to my face as I had also lost my nose, lips, part of my top jaw and eight top teeth.

The blood lab unfortunately couldn’t pinpoint if the bacteria from the mouth of the mongoose was the cause of it or not. (Sepsis and Bacterial Infections) They said it was a gram negative bacille.

My nose has since been reconstructed from skin grafts and a rib bone. My lips have also been reconstructed from skin on my thigh. To date I have had 65 operation, the last was on 13 December 2019. I still have to have my jaw reconstruction and teeth implants with more work that needs to be done on my face. The plastic surgeon reckons I have about 20 more to go.

I have to see the maxilarfacial for the next step on the 28th of January. He will then see if my mouth opening is wide enough for them to access it so he can start reconstruction of my jaw.

I also started another Instagram account of my story, it’s @shan.livinglife.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story?

Have a fantastic day further
Shan