Skip to Content

Woman suffering from rare flesh-eating disease

By Kristen Consillio

Click here for updates on this story

    HONOKA’A, Hawaii (KITV) — Danielle McKim said she was having flu-like symptoms when she went into the hospital this summer.

Little did she know she was on the verge of death.

“She just told me — did the CT scan — she told me I had about an hour to live,” McKim said.

The Honoka’a resident was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis — or flesh-eating disease that eats away at the tissue under the skin.

“I was shocked,” she said. “I mean what do you do with that so I just said, ‘yeah, do what you have to do.'”

McKim said she has no idea how she got it.

After 10 surgeries, she’s now recovering at a skilled nursing facility as her wounds heal.

“There’s pus pockets. It like burrows I guess so one of my wounds is six-inches deep and about like this wide,” she said. “It goes after your organs so it’s pretty deadly.”

She wants to warn others about the signs and symptoms of the disease — including body aches, fever, chills, nausea and diarrhea, as well as severe pain at the site of injury.

“The signs of this are just a simple wound that gets progressively and progressively worse,” McKim said.

She’s urging people to be vigilant and get medical care before it’s too late.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rare bacterial infection spreads quickly and kills one in five people.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Article Topic Follows: CNN - Regional

Jump to comments ↓

Author Profile Photo

CNN Newsource

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

KIFI Local News 8 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content