In 2011, Deborah Usher thought she had a terrible flu.
As a mother to then three-year-old Joshua, she didn’t have time to be sick. But she just kept getting worse.
Soon, her condition was so bad that she was rushed to the hospital.
She was unable to walk or talk properly.
When she got to the hospital, she was diagnosed with Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS), a bacterial condition caused by prolonged tampon use.
When a CT scan was done, they found a cyst on her ovary that was causing the infection. She had emergency surgery to have the cyst, her ovary, and fallopian tube removed.
Soon, she was put into a medically induced coma. She was in it for a week, and doctors attempted, unsuccessfully, to wake her up—twice. Then her family was prepared for the worst.
However, she did wake up. But when she did, she was unable to walk, talk, dress, bathe, or feed herself without assistance. After two months, her hair started falling out.
“It was the most terrifying experience of my life,” said Deborah. “Every day felt like a nightmare which would never end.”
The worst effect the coma and infection had was on her memory.
“When I woke up, I had no idea where I was or why I was there. I was like a child again. I struggled to remember people’s faces, I still do, and I get déjà vu when I visit places as I recognize them but don’t ever remember being there.”
It took her two months to be able to walk again without assistance, but she still struggles with her memory.
“Since I woke from the coma four years ago, I’ve struggled to remember Christmas since, and all the memories I had of it before have been wiped. The whole experience has been heartbreaking.
“TSS has completely taken over my life, It’s like having a permanent hangover every day where you have memory blanks and your head feels funny.”
But her memory is improving. “We celebrated Joshua’s eighth birthday in September and I can still remember it three months on, which is a huge achievement,” says Deborah.
As for how she got TSS, she believes it was from the super plus tampons she was using.
“TSS is very rare, especially with tampons, but no one warns you about the dangers of using them,” says Deborah. “Somehow there must have been a slight tear and the toxins got into my bloodstream. I was so lucky to be alive.
“Now I’m concentrating on my son. He’s the most important person in the world to me, and I fought so hard because of him.”
