NNFF Dedication - Anternette Paulk

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Anternette Paulk

April 25, 1950 - August 21, 2006

My mom, Anternette Paulk, was a beautiful mother. She mothered 10 children I am the youngest of them all. My name is April Paulk. My mom was a diabetic and she had just recently started dialysis about 3 or 4 months prior to contracting NF. Mom had a slight stroke on her left side. She was a little sore and needed some assistance and minor physical therapy. So, the family decided to send her to a small nursing center to receive that therapy. About three days after being there I went to visit my mom at dialysis. When I got there mom was looking a little pale she said that she had a sore on her but and that they wouldn't let her lay down in the dialysis van, and that she hurt the entire trip there. When it was time to leave she begged me to do something about her being able to lie down. I called my oldest brother and he met me and my sister there and we finally worked something out with the driver so that my mom wouldn't be in so much pain. We followed my mom to the nursing facility and decided that we were going to take her home. Mom seemed fine the first day. The next day she was out of it she complained about pain in her leg and that she felt like she was dying. We called the ambulance and they sent her back home they said give her some Tylenol. So, my oldest sisters decided to drive her all the way to Augusta, GA, to MCG, a hospital with a good reputation. I didn't go with them to Augusta. I stayed behind although I wish I would have gone. They sent her home from there basically saying the same thing, give her some Tylenol. When mom got home my older sister Paula came down and called the ambulance again and pointed out that on my moms leg she had black blister like marks, it looked liked she had been burnt. Some of the marks were pinkish in color. They then admitted my mom. A few hours later my mom was in ICU she wasn't responding to us much at all. She had then been diagnosed with Necrotizing Fasciitis and transferred to a better hospital in Valdosta, GA, to receive the treatment that an infectious disease doctor could provide. My mom went through three horrible surgeries. when didn't want to give up on her the surgeon said he felt it was torture to keep performing surgeries on her because she wasn't going to make it anyway, he refused to perform another surgery. My mom's liver started to fail, her lungs started to collapse and even after her blood was no longer septic her organs were so far gone that the started to shut down. My mom was admitted in the hospital on July 4th, 2006. She died in the hospital August 21st a day before my brother's birthday. She fought for her life almost two months, until she decided to rest. Before then we had never heard of the disease and now its something I'm determined to live my life researching and learning about.

April Paulk
paulkenterprises@yahoo.com

May 2007

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