- After a day of kayaking with his kids, Andrew Emmerig, 49, from Warner, Qld, noticed a bug bite on his right bicep.
- When symptoms escalated overnight Andrew was rushed to hospital for testing.
- Results showed Andrew was battling a deadly infection that entered his body through the insect bite on his arm.
- To save his life, docs had to cut away the dead flesh from his wrist to his armpit.
Here Andrew tells his story in his own words.
Warning: The contents of this article contain graphic content
Tracing the small red lump on my right bicep with my fingertips, I frowned.
It’s probably just an insect bite, I thought, brushing it off.
It was December 2023, and I was on holiday with my wife, Kelly, then 42, and sons, Cameron, 11, and Chase, nine, at Cotton Tree Caravan Park, Qld, where I’d been going every year since I was a boy.
We’d been fishing, kayaking, cooking barbecues and enjoying the weather.
Now, with New Year’s Eve just a few days away, I was just glad I’d avoided the strep throat that some people at the caravan park had.
An avid marathon runner and exercise lover, I’d been up early every day pounding the pavement.
But when I woke the next morning feeling really run down, I decided against my usual run and went for a bike ride with Cameron instead.
Afterwards, we headed to the beach with Kelly and Chase.
But as I sought shelter from the sweltering midday sun in our cabana, I felt like I’d developed a fever and the muscles all over my body began to throb.
‘Can we go for a kayak?’ Cameron begged.
Not having the heart to say no, I pushed through.
But after a few hours I sagged back on the beach feeling worse than ever.
‘I think I need to go,’ I said to Kelly, hoping it was just too much sun.
‘I need to go to hospital now.’
Back at the caravan, I struggled to keep any food or water down and was glued to the toilet with diarrhoea.
When that finally stopped around midnight, I collapsed in bed, and a burning sensation took over my left arm near the insect bite.
This doesn’t seem right, I thought.
I must have drifted off to sleep but an hour later, I woke in agony.
Shaking Kelly awake, I couldn’t bear much more pain.
‘I need to go to hospital now,’ I whimpered.
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After rousing the boys, Kelly helped me into the car before we raced to Buderim Private Hospital, 15 minutes away.
There, doctors suspected I’d contracted a bacterial infection, so ran some blood tests, but decided to transfer me by ambulance to Sunshine Coast University Hospital where I could see a specialist.
When we arrived, I was placed in an induced coma as my liver and kidneys fought the suspected virus.
Coming to 24 hours later, the results were in.
‘You’ve got necrotising fasciitis.’
‘You’ve got necrotising fasciitis,’ the doctor said, explaining the flesh-eating bug was caused by streptococcus A, a bacteria that I could have picked up in the water, from a sore throat, or through the insect bite on my arm.
Surgeons had cut away the dead flesh to prevent it from spreading.
‘You’re very lucky to be alive,’ they added.
When Kelly and the boys came to see me, I couldn’t hold back the tears as they hugged me. I knew how close I’d come to losing my life.
Over the next few weeks, I underwent seven surgeries to have more infected flesh cut away from my arm.
‘There’s still a chance you may need to have your arm amputated,’ doctors warned each time I went under the knife.
Three weeks after being admitted, I was horrified to see the gaping wound for the first time.
It’d started as a pin-sized prick, but now the flesh from my wrist to my armpit had been removed and my veins and bones were completely exposed.
I couldn’t believe a bug had eaten away my entire arm.
Thankfully I was on strong pain medication, but it caused me to have disturbing hallucinations.
‘There’s still a chance you may need to have your arm amputated.’
My blood pressure also hit zero twice as I battled to stay alive.
Once doctors were sure all the diseased skin had been removed, they added a layer of synthetic material to enable skin to be grafted back onto my arm.
Then the wound was sealed using a special vacuum bandage to ensure sweat wouldn’t seep inside before I was discharged.
Back home in Warner, I was so grateful that doctors had saved my arm and my life.
I returned to my local hospital every week to have my dressings changed.
Six weeks later, I was back at Sunshine Coast University Hospital to undergo a skin graft.
Using healthy skin from my thighs, doctors closed the wound in my arm, applying hundreds of staples.
Four months later, once it’d fully healed, I was allowed to get back to running, and my job as a fire alarm sprinkler fitter.
Now, 21 months on from my ordeal, I’m feeling fitter than ever, having run two marathons this year.
Crossing the finish line, I was overjoyed to see Kelly, now 44, Cameron, 14, and Chase, 11, cheering me on.
Every day I get to spend with my family is a blessing.
