Charlene Colechin, 18, never imagined that her decision to delay going to the doctor would put her at risk of losing her legs.
A month ago, when Colechin returned home from work at the hair salon, she developed a severe headache and began vomiting. She chose to go to bed early that night, seeing if she could sleep it off rather than go to the doctor. When she woke up the next morning, her symptoms persisted and quickly worsened. That was also when Colechin began to notice some spots developing on her body.
Her family had no idea what was happening, so they called an ambulance and had Colechin taken to the hospital.
Colechin has yet to leave.
On the way to the hospital, Colechin's spots multiplied into a rash that soon spread across most of her body. The rash took over her body "in about an hour," she recalled.
When the doctors learned of her symptoms and saw her mottled skin, they immediately diagnosed her with bacterial meningitis, an infection of the spinal cord or brain. While this disease can typically be warded off by vaccines, these vaccines don't protect against all types of meningitis.
Once the disease has had a chance to spread, it can very quickly cause a person's health to deteriorate rapidly, leading to brain damage, loss of hearing, or even loss of limbs.
For Colechin, the doctors' main concern was to keep her organs from failing. The rash was causing her feet to blacken, but they were more concerned with her vital organs.
Thankfully, Colechin's health has been stabilized, though at a price.
Although her doctors were able to keep the infection from taking her life, they weren't able to save her entire body. Colechin's toes will have to be amputated, and her doctors are currently debating whether her legs will be able to recover, or if they will have to be removed as well.
Colechin later explained, "Because they was concentrating on reviving the top half of my body they left the bottom half which has coursed my feet to go f***** up, especially my toes, and now I could be loosing them but I am loosing my toes for definite."
As Colechin waits for the doctors' verdict, she's asked her friends to share photos of her rash and condition on Facebook.
"These are not nice photos but this is the reality of what meningitis can do," she said. Colechin had no idea how dangerous meningitis was until she came down with it and only hopes that by being open and candid about her own experience, she can "raise awareness of how serious meningitis can be and is."
