My name is Patricia Herring and this is my family's story about a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather who lost his life on 11/29/2010 to Necrotizing Fasciitis Soft Tissue Infection. Even though he was 83 yrs. old, we were not prepared to let him go. Most definitely, not prepared for the horror of this illness. He was our rock and friend to many.

My Dad was placed in a rehabilitation center for therapy after a hospital stay for Gout in his arms. He was told he would be there for approximately 6 weeks for the therapy which would have made his discharge date around 12/10/2010. He entered the facility on I believe 10/14/2010. On 10/28/2010 he went to the ER due to very low blood pressure. He was diagnosed with dehydration. He was hydrated and returned to the facility. On 11/13/2010, my mother phoned me to let me know that the facility thought my dad may have a touch of pneumonia. He was given a chest x-ray. That day he was running a low grade temp and his appetite was not good. He also seemed to have congestion and seemed very weak. To make a very long story short, we received a phone call at approximate 8:30 on 11/14/10 stating that he was coughing up blood and they were taking him to the ER by ambulance. The ER doctor pulled 900 CC's of blood from his abdomen when he arrived. A CAT Scan and blood work was ordered immediately. It was there that he was diagnosed with Perineal Gangrene. Immediately, preparations were made to air lift him to Norfolk, Virginia where a surgical team was waiting for him. Within 30 minutes of his arrival, he was in the surgery of his life. He was in surgery that day for approximately 5 hours and in surgery for the next five days that followed. We had been told that if he survived the surgery, it would be unlikely that he would survive afterwards. After 10 days on a ventilator, my dad woke up! It was a wonderful moment to see him sitting up with only his GI Tube for nourishment. He was able to eat ice cream,soup and oatmeal. The doctors were amazed that at his age and the infection that he actually was improving. He was not out of the woods by any means. His wound in his backside was large and he would require additional surgeries to cover it. He had a Colostomy too. I have kind of lost track of dates but a few days later, he was moved to a Trauma Unit as he had improved enough to leave ICU.

My dad took a turn for the worse about 3 days after the move. He really never said anything else to us the last 2 days that he lived. He peacefully passed away on 11/29/10 with my brother Billy at his side and my mother Nancy close by. Unfortunately, my brother Dennis (who lives in Indiana) nor myself (at work) were not there for those last precious moments. However, we all share a lifetime of fond memories.

Just wanted to say that early intervention is crucial. I had never heard of this infection prior to my dad being diagnosed with it. I believe this infection was present when he went to ER in October. Could it be that all of these were early signs of the infection? I have went back and tried my best to make sense of all of this. So far, I haven't. I just know that we love and miss him more everyday.

Sincerely,
The Family of Loyd D. Byrum