'It's been a long road, a lot of which I don't remember': Mom who gave birth to twins days before contracting flesh-eating bacteria now walking and set to return home

  • Lana Kuykendall hospitalised in May after spotting expanding bruise on leg
  • Underwent 20 surgeries to stop spread of disease
  • Doctors removed leg muscle but she has learned to walk again
  • Comes five weeks after she was pictured seeing twins for first time since contracting the deadly disease
  • Nurses and husband call her a 'fighter'

By Lydia Warren

Published: | Updated:

A new mother who contracted an aggressive flesh-eating bacteria just days after giving birth to twins is now walking and could leave hospital as early as this week.

The astounding recovery comes two months after Lana Kuykendall, from Charleston, South Carolina, spotted a small bruise on the back of her leg that was growing by a quarter of an inch every hour.

It was diagnosed as necrotizing fasciitis, a serious infection of the skin, and doctors carried out nearly 20 operations in a bid to stop the disease, removing muscle tissue from her legs.

'It's been a long road, a lot of which I don't remember, but we're recovering and that's what matters,' Lana told Today as she sat grinning beside her husband Darren.

Scroll down for video

Road to recovery: Lana Kuykendall, who contracted a flesh-eating bacteria days after giving birth to twins, is getting ready to go home two months on. She is pictured with her husband Darren

Road to recovery: Lana Kuykendall, who contracted a flesh-eating bacteria days after giving birth to twins, is getting ready to go home two months on. She is pictured with her husband Darren

'It'll be nice to be home with the family and hopefully start our life as a whole family - for more than a few hours,' she added.

Five weeks ago, Lana, 36, was able to hold her babies for the first time since she became infected, after her condition improved and doctors deemed her well enough to be exposed to them.

Heart-wrenching photographs captured the moment she held Ian and Abigail, with her husband and nurses looking on.

She has now moved from Greenville Memorial Hospital to a rehabilitation facility, where she has learned to walk and care for her twins for when she returns home, which could be this week.

Therapy: After noticing a bruise on the back of her leg, Lana underwent 20 operations. She has now been moved from the hospital to a rehab center, where she is pictured walking down stairs

Therapy: After noticing a bruise on the back of her leg, Lana underwent 20 operations. She has now been moved from the hospital to a rehab center, where she is pictured walking down stairs

Battle: Doctors removed large amounts of muscle from her leg to stop the flesh-eating bacteria

Battle: Doctors removed large amounts of muscle from her leg to stop the flesh-eating bacteria

Darren, her husband of four years, said the babies have helped motivate her recovery.

'It was touch and go each and every day, and it was stressful,' Darren, a firefighter, said. 'I knew that she was a fighter from the word go, and I love her with all my heart.'

Her physical therapist, Lindsay Swift, added: 'She's a fighter. She works hard every day and she pushes through it.'

A video of Lana in the rehabilitation facility shows her walking down steps and lifting her legs.

Her doctor, Dr Spence Taylor, credited her medical knowledge and fast reaction for her recovery. If she had waited longer to seek medical advice, she might have lost her limbs.

Fighter: It comes five weeks after she held her twins, Ian and Abigail, for the first time since she was hospitalised

Fighter: Five weeks ago, she held her twins, Ian and Abigail, for the first time since she was hospitalised

Lana Kuykendall
Lana Kuykendall

Reunion: Lana said she is looking forward to being a family again - for more than a few hours

'Time is of the essence,' he said. 'So the immediate recognition and getting to the doctor are very important. It is an inspirational case that all physicians aspire to take care of.'

Lana, a paramedic, noticed a dark spot on the back of her left leg on May 11 and thought it might be a blood clot, so immediately checked herself into hospital.

'Blood clots aren't something to be played around with, they can be dangerous,' she told Today. 'That's what I thought it was at the time, so I just knew I needed to get help.'

The relentless necrotizing fasciitis was caused by the skin bacteria Group A streptococcus, according to Dr. Bill Kelly, epidemiologist for the Greenville Hospital System.

Before: Lana, 36, is pictured with her babies before the flesh-eating bacteria was detected
Lana Kuykendall

Before and after: Left, Lana is pictured with the babies before the flesh-eating bacteria was detected, and right, she grins with the babies from her hospital bed as she continues her amazing recovery

Strong: Georgia grad student Aimee Copeland, another flesh-eating bacteria victim, lost her limbs to the deadly disease. She is pictured grinning outside the hospital with her parents

Strong: Georgia grad student Aimee Copeland, another flesh-eating bacteria victim, lost her limbs to the deadly disease. She is pictured grinning outside the hospital with her parents

'Around 11:30 the spot was the size of her palm,' her friend, Kayla Moon, told Today. 'By the time she went in to surgery and they thought they knew what it was, it had consumed practically her whole leg.'

She underwent surgeries and her condition was upgraded to 'good' in early June.

It came after Aimee Copeland, 24, a graduate student from Georgia, was admitted to hospital with the flesh-eating bacteria after falling from a zipline on May 1.

Doctors blamed her infection on Aeromonas hydrophila bacteria, which are found in fresh water and may have entered the wound when she fell into the river.

Doctors had to amputate all of her limbs to stop the spread of the bacteria, but she has been pictured smiling in hospital and said she plans on walking at her graduation in December.

NECROTIZING FASCIITIS: WHAT CAUSES IT, AND WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

Necrotizing fasciitis, more commonly known as 'flesh-eating disease', is a rare but extremely vicious bacterial infection. 'Necrotizing' refers to something that causes body tissue to die, and the infection can destroy skin, muscles and fat.

The disease develops when the bacteria enters the body, often through a minor cut or scrape. As the bacteria multiply, they release toxins that kill tissue and cut off blood flow to the area.

Because it is so virulent, the bacteria spreads rapidly throughout the body.

Symptoms include small, red lumps or bumps on the skin, rapidly-spreading bruising, sweating, chills, fever and nausea. Organ failure and shock are also common complications.

Sufferers must be treated immediately to prevent death, and are usually given powerful antibiotics and surgery to remove dead tissue. Amputation can become necessary if the disease spreads through an arm or leg.

Patients may undergo skin grafts after the infection has cleared up, to help the healing process or for aesthetic reasons. 


See below for video

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Most watched News videos