My name is Donna Black.

I would like to raise funds for my son, James Lamb, who on November 4th received a deep cut on the knuckle of his right index finger.

In less than 24 hours, he was showing signs of sepsis, severe swelling, fever, vomiting, and lethargy. A few hours later, he mustered up the energy to drive himself to the ER where they transported him to a trauma hospital with a hand specialist. There, they discovered that he was suffering from extreme sepsis and in danger of losing his arm and kidney failure.

Since then, he has endured 4 surgeries, with many more in his future, and it was discovered that the gash on his finger had damaged a tendon. It was also discovered that he is infected with necrotizing fasciitis, aka flesh-eating bacteria, caused by the Strep A bacteria that also causes strep throat. This is a rare occurrence which conditions must be perfect for this to happen. The perfect condition in this case is, the Strep A bacteria lives everywhere and was already present on his hand prior to the injury. The injured tendon was infected with the bacteria, which caused it to spread very rapidly and severe swelling up to his shoulder cutting off circulation. His arm has been "fileted" as the surgeon put it, on both sides and it is flushed and dead tissue removed during surgeries. The wounds remain open, but are wrapped, with flush and drainage tubes along with antibiotic beads. He is receiving massive doses of IV antibiotics, has had a blood transfusion and may possibly need another. They've determined that the wound will have to heal from the inside out, which is a very long process, at which time, skin grafting will begin. Needless to say, he has a VERY long road ahead of him. Doctors estimate a solid year to full recovery.

Upon discharge from the hospital, he will have a PICC line to administer antibiotics for a minimumof 6 weeks. Unfortunately, due to obvious financial issues and the fact that he will not be able to live on his own, he is forced to give up his home, and will be staying with his grandmother, Lou Lamb, until he's able to return to work. James is a contract worker which means if he doesn't work he doesn't get paid and has no insurance. He has 2 children, Emelyn 10, and James almost 6, who he sees on the weekends and are the reason he lives.

We will appreciate any amount you can spare. Every penny counts.

Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart, for your support.