DEADLY DECISION
A YOUNG mum who used her best friend's make-up brush was left paralysed just hours later.
Jo Gilchrist, 31, was struck down by a rare condition after making the split-decision to borrow the brush - simply to cover a pimple.
5
What Jo didn't realise was her friend had a boil, that was infected with a nasty bacteria.
About a month later, the single mum from Queensland started enduring agonising pain, which she put down to back ache.
However, tests revealed Jo actually had a deadly MRSA staph infection, which had invaded her body through a small opening in her skin.
She was airlifted from her country hometown of Warwick to Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital where doctors told her she had been left paralysed from the chest down and would never walk again.
Jo was forced to care for her son Tommy, who was just three at the time, with the news that she would be wheelchair-bound for the rest of her life.
5
5
She said: "Over about the course of a month, I started getting horrendous back pain.
"Eventually I ended up being paralysed from my chest down.
"It ended up being an MRSA staph infection which is the most dangerous form of staph.
"It would have gone through a cut or pimple on my face, travelled around my body and implanted in my spinal cord.
"By the time I got to the Brisbane hospital, they were basically telling me to say goodbye."
What is a staph infection?
Staphylococcal infections are a group of infections caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus.
They are commonly called staph infections.
Staph bacteria can cause a wide range of infections, from relatively minor skin infections such as boils, to more serious infections of the blood, lungs and heart.
Staph bacteria are usually spread between people through close skin contact or by sharing contaminated objects, such as towels or toothbrushes.
Staph infections can be broadly classified into two groups: skin and soft tissue infections, and invasive infections.
Soft tissue infections:
- boils
- impetigo - a highly contagious skin infection that mainly affects children, which can cause sores, blisters and crusts to develop on the skin
- cellulitis
- a skin abscess
- folliculitis - an infection in the hair follicle
- wound infections
- scalded skin syndrome - where the skin looks like it is covered in blisters
Invasive infections:
- joint infections
- bone infections
- pneumonia
- heart infection
- sepsis
- toxic shock syndrome
Treatment:
Most skin infections will get better on their own, but may require antibiotics.
Invasive infections will often require treatment in a hospital.
5
Jo was then forced to undergo emergency surgery to remove an abscess that was strangling her spinal cord.
And medics told her she was unlikely to survive the condition, even after surgery.
However, the mum defied the odds and has since regained mobility in her legs after a year of physiotherapy and training.
Speaking on the Aussie version of This Time Next Year, she added: 'They told me they didn't think I would ever walk again and I told them no, this isn't how my story ends.
Most read in health
5
"It'll be a lot of heavy duty physio and through my own determination and fight that I'll get there. You watch me I'll come out here and I'll be running next year."
Appearing on the show later, Jo miraculously walked through the doors alongside her son, Tommy.
And she credited her little boy for motivating her to walk again.
She said: "I don't think I would be here if it wasn't for my little boy. He's the fight that gets me through everyday."
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.