SHAWNEE, Okla.– A woman in Oklahoma had her arms and legs amputated after contracting a disease during a family trip.
According to KOCO, four days after visiting Grand Lake, Jo Rogers, mother of two, thought she had the flu. She was tested for both West Nile Virus and meningitis, but the test results came back negative.
Doctors said her organs were starting to shut down. Rogers’ cousin, Lisa Morgan, told KOCO, “…her arms and feet were turning dark blue and black. It was crawling up her limbs.”
It turned out that a tick bite that went unnoticed caused Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever to attack the woman’s body. Doctors had to amputate.
“(They had) to save her life to keep the infection from getting to her vital organs,” Morgan told KOCO.
“Since then she has had surgeries to remove her right leg mid-thigh, her left leg below the knee and both of her arms mid-forearm. She will soon have more surgeries on her arms to prevent the infection from spreading more,” the family wrote on her GoFundMe page. ” She is still on a ventilator and being kept sedated to help with pain. Although she will have insurance for a couple more months, her medical bills are mounting daily and will continue as she will be in the hospital for many more months with rehab, prosthetics and home and car renovation to accommodate her needs.”
