A mother-of-three had half of her face sliced off after developing a potentially deadly infection after whacking her head on her oven.
Donna Corden, 46, of Leeds, knocked herself out during the incident earlier this year and sustained a small cut above her left eyebrow.
Within just 24 hours, her face turned a frightening shade of black and she became delirious and dizzy. She was rushed to hospital.
Doctors diagnosed her with necrotising fasciitis – a flesh-eating bug that often kills. Her children were told to ‘prepare for the worst’.
Surgeons were able to cut away the rotten flesh to keep her alive, but days later she went onto develop sepsis and her life hung in the balance.
Her body went into organ failure and she was placed in an induced coma so she could recover, she was pumped full of antibiotics.
Speaking for the first time since recovering, Ms Corden, who has had skin grafted from her lower limbs onto her face, said: ‘I’m alive. It could be worse.’
Donna Corden, 46, of Leeds, knocked herself out during the incident earlier this year and sustained a small cut above her left eyebrow. Within just 24 hours, her face turned a frightening shade of black and she became delirious and dizzy. She was rushed to hospital
‘Yes, it is difficult. I could wonder why it happened to me, but there would be no point. It was amazing. I couldn’t believe I was alive.’
When did the incident happen?
Ms Corden, who is currently on sick leave, said that her legs gave way, because of her arthritis, as she stood in the kitchen in January this year.
Knocking herself out on the oven, her son David Lawton, 24, discovered that she was unconscious sometime later.
Ms Corden added: ‘I had a nasty cut and there was blood everywhere. I didn’t want to go to hospital, so David called a doctor and butterfly strips were put across the cut.’
The next day, her cut began turning a frightening shade of black.
Then, when her head swelled and she became delirious and dizzy, daughter Jayde Stammers, 26, phoned an ambulance.
When was she diagnosed?
Blue-lighted to St James Hospital in Leeds, it was by chance that Ms Corden was diagnosed with NF.
Though it’s incredible rare, one of her doctors had studied it during medical training, and immediately flagged it up as a possibility.
Once the formal NF diagnosis was made by the hospital’s eye specialist, she was whisked to Leeds General Infirmary for an emergency operation.
Her children were told that it was unlikely she would survive.
Doctors diagnosed her with necrotising fasciitis – a flesh-eating bug that often kills. Her children were told to ‘prepare for the worst’ (pictured before the incident)
Ms Corden said: ‘Jayde apparently told doctors, “Please save my mum’s eye”. But they said, “It’s not a case of saving her eye, it’s a case of saving her life”.’
After three hours in theatre, surgeons successfully managed to cut away the rotten flesh.
But, days later, she also developed sepsis, which occurs when the body attacks its own organs and tissues in response to an infection.
Her body went into organ failure. Put in an induced coma so she could recover, she was pumped full of antibiotics.
Then, after being brought round, she was discharged as an out-patient on February 10.
An emotional personal diary
Miss Stammers kept a personal diary of her mother’s time in intensive care, which she said made for emotional reading.
Her Facebook statuses, written as she recovered, are equally heart-wrenching.
In March, she posted: ‘May not be a big thing to some but I must say I am extremely proud of mum, we have just come back from doing the school run!
Surgeons were able to cut away the rotten flesh to keep her alive, but days later she went onto develop sepsis and her life hung in the balance (pictured after the oven incident)
‘She stood there on the playground and chatted with loads of different people and told them all about what has happened and what is to happen in the next few months! I am so, so proud mum, massive step today, well done.’
And on the day, her mother was released from hospital, Miss Stammers wrote: ‘So three weeks ago today we were told that we were highly likely to lose our mum. These past few weeks have been hell on earth!
‘But today after the rockiest of roads and as proud as punch she took her first steps into her new life! Long road ahead mum but we are with you all the way! I can’t put into words how proud of you I am!’
Repeated facial surgeries
Since being discharged, Ms Corden has been in-and-out of hospital, having bouts of repeated surgery on her face as it heals.
Initially, she was told she would have to wait months for reconstructive surgery, as it was believed she would not be strong enough,
But she recovered quickly and was ready for her first reconstructive operation in January. It lasted 11 hours.
Surgeons were able to graft skin from her legs and thigh onto her face. Some of this excess skin was removed during another operation in July.
There will be many more operations in the coming months, Ms Corden explained. She said: ‘It’s a long road, but it is a start.’
Now eager to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of NF, Ms Corden is looking to the future.
She added: ‘I can’t change what happened. But I have a wonderful family and lovely friends. I’m lucky to be alive.’