Help Scott Recover From Flesh-Eating Disease

We are reaching out to the community to help our family through the most difficult time of our lives. My otherwise perfectly healthy husband Scott, devoted father to our three young daughters, has been infected with a rare bacterial infection, which almost ended his life. Scott has been hospitalized for the past eight weeks and is currently in a specialty hospital in Utah. In just 8 weeks, he has endured THIRTEEN surgeries … with more to go, including skin grafts and amputation of his toes. To stop the rapidly spreading infection, surgeons removed approximately 90% of the skin on his right leg, from his hip to his ankle. Our family has been impacted emotionally by this ordeal, and the financial strain is only adding to it. We are grateful for any contribution you can make, no matter how small, to help us through this challenging time.

Scott with his family, October 2018

About Scott

Scott is a 42-year old dedicated husband and loving father to three little girls, ages 4, 6 and 7.  He is a very active person who has a passion for the outdoors. He is an avid mountain climber, whitewater kayaker and rafter, mountain biker, and surfer. He has a goal to climb the high point of every state.  To date, he has climbed 32 state highpoints! Scott climbed Grand Teton in Idaho last summer, and Mount Rainer in Washington the prior year.

Scott climbing various peaks and map showing state highpoints with pins on states where he has climbed the highpoint

Scott enjoying various outdoor activities

Scott’s main passion for life are his three daughters: Layne, Taylor and Avery. Being the best father possible and raising our girls to be strong, independent, adventurous women is central to him. Idaho has been our home for the past 15 years. We are proud to raise our daughters in this amazing area. We take advantage of our proximity to the beautiful Idaho landscape as much as we can. We love taking them rafting on our scenic rivers, camping at state parks, or hiking the numerous trails around the state.

Scott and his three daughters at Bull Trout Lake, July 2018

What is Necrotizing Fasciitis (from the CDC website)

Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare bacterial infection that spreads quickly in the body and can cause death. Accurate diagnosis, rapid antibiotic treatment, and prompt surgery are important to stopping this infection. Necrotizing fasciitis can lead to sepsis, shock, and organ failure. It can also result in life-long complications from loss of limbs or severe scarring due to surgically removing infected tissue. Even with treatment, up to 1 in 3 people with necrotizing fasciitis die from the infection. The CDC reports that since 2010, approximately 700 to 1200 cases occur each year in the United States.

Scott’s Story

In early February 2019, Scott mis-diagnosed himself with what he thought was the Flu.  He spent four days in bed with very intense flu-like symptoms.  By Monday evening, February 4th, Scott _ who is rarely sick _ was so ill he requested to be taken to the ER. He was also complaining about pain in his right leg, which he thought was from pulling a muscle while snowboarding. After multiple MRIs and various tests (including a negative Flu test) Scott was admitted into the Medical ICU, approximately 10 hours after going into the ER.  At that point, they still had not confirmed the cause of his illness.  While changing into his hospital gown, it was apparent that the pain in Scott’s right leg stemmed from something much more than a pulled muscle.  His inner thigh was purple with red blisters in an area about the size of basketball. He was taken into surgery that morning.  An orthopedic surgeon performed debridement, which means to remove the infected tissue on this leg.  Since fluid was found in his abdomen in an MRI, a general surgeon also performed laparoscopic surgery to explore the extent of the infection in his abdomen.  All things considered, the surgery went as well as could be expected.  The orthopedic surgeon debrided the infected skin and fascia tissue and reported the infection did not reach the muscle.  The general surgeon found signs of infection, but his organs appeared to be okay; however, she did remove his appendix.

That’s when it seemed like all hell broke loose.  Scott was kept intubated on a ventilator and sedated post-surgery, so he was unaware of the trauma that awaited him.  Upon his return to the ICU it was discovered that Scott had no pulse in his right leg. He was again rushed into surgery where a vascular surgeon identified the location of an obstruction.  The vascular surgeon performed an arterial graft so Scott would regain blood flow in his leg.  Upon his return to the ICU, doctors and teams of nurses worked furiously to keep Scott alive.  At one time he had 12 different IV medications going simultaneously. His blood pressure kept dropping so he was on four vasopressors. During the night, his heart went into V-tach and a “code blue” was called and a crash cart was pulled into the room.  His body was in shock. With all of this going on, his leg worsened.  The orthopedic surgeon, general surgeon, and urologist were called in to perform more debridement surgery. His abdomen was opened up for further exploration.  Over the next six days, Scott remained hemodynamically unstable while undergoing more debridement surgeries, removing infected skin and fascia tissue.  He was put on dialysis since his kidneys were failing.  By the following Monday, a week after first going to the ER, Scott had undergone six surgeries with multiple surgeons. Once he was stable enough he was life-lighted to the University of Utah Burn Center.  After the initial exam by the burn center attending physician, I was reminded how serious his case is, and that “he could still die from this.” Not the words I was hoping to hear after finally getting him transported to a place with doctors who are more experienced with NF. At the burn center, he underwent five more debridement surgeries in the effort to get ahead of the infection. By then, muscle tissue on his upper leg, which was protecting the arterial graft, was showing signs of dying, so a muscle flap was preformed to protect the graft. He underwent more surgeries to debride and prepare his leg for repairs. 

Scott after three weeks of being intubated, February 2019

Scott’s Re-Birthday

On February 22nd, 17 days after undergoing his first surgery, Scott was extubated (taken off the ventilator) and awoken out of medical sedation.  By that time, he had undergone 11 surgeries and approximately 90% of the skin had been removed from his right hip and groin area, down to his ankle.  He was on dialysis for his failing kidneys, a feeding tube, and multiple IV ports and sensors. Fortunately, I had Scott’s family by my side: his brother Phil, who had just flown in the night before, as well as his sister, Ashley, who drove to SLC from Boise that day. I’m not sure if it was Scott’s strength, or the sedation meds still in his system, but Scott took the news of the extensive damage to his body very well.  Once he understood what had happened, he immediately focused on what it would take to get better and be back with his family.

Scott on his Re-Birthday with his sister Ashley and brother Phil, February 2019

Starting the Long Road to Recovery

Within a few days of waking up, Scott was re-intubated and underwent two more surgeries (thirteen to date) to prepare his leg for future skin grafts. After a few days he was able to be removed from dialysis treatment since his kidneys were regaining function.  He also was able to get many of the IV lines removed since he can take most of his medications through the feeding tube.

Because Scott’s body remained inactive for so long, the rest of his body became deconditioned. In addition, he has lost dexterity in his right hand due to a blood cut in that arm. A team of physical therapists work with him twice a day to help him gain strength back and learn how to walk again.

Scott will need to have the toes on his right foot amputated at some point. We don’t know yet if Scott will lose all of his toes, or just the tips.

The medical team is unable to give us a timeframe for when Scott will be able to return home.  Sometimes he seems energetic, however quite often he is exhausted from even the smallest activity, such as sitting in a chair or brushing his teeth.

The toll this tragedy has taken on Scott’s family is also apparent. While our daughters were kept isolated from much of the medical crisis mentioned above, they were aware that their Daddy was very ill and that Mommy needed to be at the hospital with him. They were without both parents for a full month before I felt Scott was stable enough for me to leave Utah to travel back to Boise. The behavioral changes in each of them are understandable considering the circumstances. The changes in our youngest daughter is so apparent that we’ve decided to reach out to a child psychologist.  

First time sitting up. Scott's right leg covered in Wound Vac., February 2019


How You Can Help

Now Scott, our beloved husband/father/son/brother/friend, has another mountain to climb. This time, however, the mountain is figurative, and one he never expected to face. Scott has a long road ahead of him to be able to resume any sense of normalcy in his life. Knowing how strong and determined he is, he will not stop rehabilitation until he’s able to climb mountains again.

We are fortunate to have medical insurance, which has helped us with many medical expenses. Scott faces more surgeries and physical therapy. Understandably, he is now unable to work and provide for our family, and will be on disability for a very long time. Please consider contributing to our family, and sharing this story with your friends and family. No amount is too small to help us as he recovers from this terrible illness. Scott's next surgery is scheduled for April 4th. We will update this space as he undergoes more surgeries.

Scott at the Univ of Utah Hospital, March 2019