WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE 

If you think you have an infection, don't wait: GO SEE A DOCTOR NOW! I am not a doctor nor am I an expert. But, I am a survivor. My site contains a lot of info, but is just one stop on a long road of learning. It is here to tell my story and to reach out to others. I was hospitalized on 02/22/2004. I was in end stage organ failure when taken into the operating room for the first of several surgeries. This all happened because of a rapid spreading infection called Necrotizing Fasciitis, better known in the media as "Flesh-eating Bacteria." Surgeons scooped out my entire right armpit and removed part of my right breast, almost all of my upper arm and most of my inner forearm. They took skin, fat, fascia, muscle and a lymph node. Luckily no bone was lost, so I got to keep my arm (such as it is). I was given a 4% chance of survival when taken back to the ICU and remained in the hospital for six weeks. I have a lot of scars hindering my range of motion. The massive loss of tricep and shoulder muscle has caused severe disfigurement. The lymph node removal has given me secondary Stage Two Lymphedema. I felt very alone before I finally got home and got back online. I read a lot of folk's NF survival stories, then after posting a short version of my story on nnff.org, I decided to create this site so I could expand my story and report my ongoing progress. And, more importantly, to lend an ear to others. Sadly, as much as I'd like everyone to be aware of deadly bacterial infections and how to protect themselves against them, the truth is, most people find this site AFTER they have already gone through an ordeal of their own. Since my illness I have read every book and website I could find on NF. Education is the key, go to the links I offer, use your search engine, go to the library and consult with as many medical professionals as you can.

 WHAT CAUSED MY ILLNESS? 

In addition to having the "superbug" MRSA, my doctors said I had three types of NF:

1. Type I, or polymicrobial NF (Usually mistaken for simple cellulitis)
The lymph node removed from my armpit was completely full of it!
2. Type II, or group A streptococcal NF or the so-called flesh-eating bacteria
When the disease spreads along the layer of tissue that surrounds muscle (the fascia).
3. Type III NF, or clostridial myonecrosis, aka gas gangrene
This caused my muscle infection (it is called necrotizing myositis).

I was exposed to all of this because I was my elderly father's in-home health care provider. Towards the end of his life, Dad had to be hospitalized numerous times and his HMO kept releasing him too early with hospital-acquired infection after hospital-acquired infection. Never once did they bother to inform me just how infectious he really was nor warn me that I was at risk. Because of this, I nearly died. My sister-in-law took care of Dad for me during my hospital stay and she also contracted MRSA, as did Nora, my business partner, who rents a room in my home. I really want to get the word out, to folks who are caring for their elderly parents, be careful! Make sure you wash your hands often and if you know your loved one has an infection, take steps to protect yourself and others. MRSA is a growing threat to everyone, not just the sick or elderly, and has migrated out of hospitals (HA-MRSA) and into the community at large (CA-MRSA). It is now responsible for as many deaths each years as AIDS.

 WHAT AM I UP TO NOW? 

Nowadays, I spend a great deal of time spreading the word about prevention, not only on this website, but also at MySpace. Feel free to visit my profile and send a request via the ADD link in my contact table. I've met over a dozen other survivors there (they are all listed in my "Top Friends" space on my profile). MySpace has a HUGE membership, many of them young people who might not otherwise ever hear of NF and/or how to avoid bacterial infections. I check MySpace often, since I work online: I maintain dozens of websites, mostly for actors and actresses, many of which perform cartoon voice overs. I also sell toys and other items on eBay. Of all the sites I maintain, this NF site is probably the most difficult one for me to work on. It is many things to me: a labor of love, a place to vent, a beacon of hope and a source of frustration. It has healed and injured me. I left myself wide open and have been harrassed by some hurtful people. My photographs have become the fodder for immature jokes on some ugly websites. Know-it-all types have written me and claimed I am "uninformed" or "misinforming people" because I haven't regurgitated every fact or theory in the world onto my pages. So, if you think you somehow know more about my condition than I do or in any way think that NF is a joke, please leave and visit this site instead!

 THANK YOU FOR VISITING 

I'd like to thank all the people who have told me I have been of help to them, especially Janet, Pam, Nicole, Karlene and Beverley. Your encouragement gives me the strength I need to continue "my mission" and keep this site online. A small sampling of the email I have received over the years has recently been added to the site. I hope you will take the time to check out the Letters Page, especially if you think I am "hurting people with my website." To everyone who has written, survivors, students, etc. I wish you all health and happiness. Special thanks go to everyone who has allowed me to publish their stories here! If you are a returning visitor, be sure to check out the Updates Page. Thank you for your time, I appreciate it.

-Doreen Mulman
Updated: June 30, 2008

PS. I have posted graphic photographs from my skin graft surgery. Do not visit the photo pages if you are easily offended. If you are a student, I hope that you will find my story, a small, but helpful part of your ongoing research. A lot of students have emailed me to ask permission to use my story and pics in their school projects. Go ahead and do so, there's no need to ask.

Nora (my caregiver) and I have also published our individual accounts of my experience at Associated Content. We really want to get the word out to help raise awareness and hope others will follow our lead. If you would like to join AC, please use this link. Thanks.

Help keep this website online. Donate via PayPal or Amazon Honor System.

If you do not see a navigation menu on the left, or banner graphic up top, you are reading
this page out of the site's frames, please CLICK HERE to properly enter the site. Thank you.