Arisbeth Muñoz, 39, was diagnosed in December with the flu and strep A, which triggered a life-threatening infection that lasted months
When Muñoz developed necrotizing fasciitis, doctors amputated her legs below the knees, her right arm, and part of her left hand to stop the spread of the infection
The mom of two boys who have autism is raising money for prosthetics so she can support her sons at their school meetings, and says “I’m grateful because I’m alive and I can stay with my kids”
A 39-year-old mom of two is raising money for prosthetics after having her legs, right arm, and part of her left hand amputated, the result of a deadly infection triggered by the flu and strep.
Arisbeth Muñoz, who lives in San Diego, went to the emergency room last December 28 when she began vomiting and experienced pain in her side. There, tests confirmed she had the flu and Group A strep — common infections that can be treated with antibiotics and over-the-counter remedies.
But from that point, her condition rapidly deteriorated. Muñoz shared in a GoFundMe: “Having been perfectly fine that morning, my body was now in a state of sepsis,” a life-threatening infection that can occur when the body improperly responds to an infection.
“The doctors [said] that I will pass away that night,” she told ABC News 10, sharing that she was placed in a medically induced coma until February. Her condition continued to decline. Muñoz had a heart attack, struggled with an internal hemorrhage, and developed necrotizing fasciitis — commonly called the flesh-eating bacteria — which resulted in the amputation of her legs under the knee, her right arm, and part of her left hand, to stop the infection’s spread.
“I saw my arms and legs: darkness. I think it’s a bad dream,” Muñoz said. She spent months in the hospital and was finally discharged in April.
“It’s difficult. It’s changed my life. I can’t take care of my children 100%,” Muñoz told ABC. As she shared in the GoFundMe, she now desperately needs prosthetics to properly look after “my two sons, Matthew and Enrique, who are autistic and who have relied heavily on me in terms of care, as well as to be present at their therapy, evaluation and medical appointments. Now, during this trying time, I desire nothing more than to continue to care for them.”
