Rebecca’s story is one of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and hope. A few months ago, we shared part of her journey, but now we’re going back to the beginning to show how this young mother of three found herself on life support, fighting for her life, and after 12 long months in the hospital, became a quadriplegic.
Rebecca, or Bec as her loved ones call her, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that compromises the immune system. Tragically, her sister had passed away from the same disease. Despite this, Bec found joy in life, especially in gardening, one of her Favourite pastimes.
One day while gardening, Bec cut her thumb. It seemed like a trivial injury at the time, but the bacteria from the cut quickly spread through her body, causing a severe infection. Initially, doctors suspected COVID-19 when she fell ill and ran tests, but when they came back negative, she was sent home. However, the infection worsened, turning septic and causing her joints to painfully fuse together. At this point, her husband called an ambulance.
Bec, a mother of a toddler and two teenage girls, was admitted to Maitland Hospital, where she endured eight days of painful surgeries. When her condition worsened, she was transferred to John Hunter Hospital. There, her battle took a darker turn. Bec was placed into a coma, and over the course of her treatment, she underwent 17 surgeries. Sadly, after one of these surgeries, she suffered a stroke, and later, a spinal injury that left her a quadriplegic.
As if that wasn’t enough, Bec faced life-threatening kidney failure. Her family was brought in for end-of-life discussions, and it seemed like there was little hope. But Bec was given one more surgery, and miraculously, the treatment began to work. She had survived the worst, but her fight was far from over.
