Stephenie Rodriguez, a 52-year-old Australian socialite, has recounted how she had her two feet amputated and lived through an 18-month nightmare after contracting cerebral malaria from a mosquito bite while on a trip to Lagos.
After being bitten by a mosquito in Nigeria, an Australian socialite undergoes 36 surgeries and has both feet amputated. After being bitten by a mosquito in Nigeria, an Australian socialite undergoes 36 surgeries and has both feet amputated.
According to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald, the single mother and digital entrepreneur stated that she had travelled to Lagos, Nigeria, in 2019 to speak at a business gathering for travel industry professionals.
Her statement stated that she and the other invited guests were ordered to congregate outside for a picture session close to a pool of stagnant water at the time of the gathering. She claimed that it was when she was there that she was bitten three times by a mosquito on her left ankle, causing her to lose consciousness.
Rodriguez, armed with ample insect repellant, said she conscientiously doused herself in insect repellant, but she did not take any anti-malaria medications because of a bad reaction she had to one she had taken previously.
"The event's organisers asked me to accompany them outside for a photo shoot with attendees. They used drones and shot B roll (additional footage) as well as vox pops. It was filmed next to a pool of stagnant water. It was the end of the day. I believe that's when a mosquito bitten me three times on my left ankle, which I believe was the case," she said.
A few days after arriving in India, Rodriguez claimed she began to feel fatigued and ill but disregarded the symptoms as 'out of character' and the result of 'compound jet-lag.' In fact, it was while she was on her way to Boston that she was airlifted to the hospital after becoming sick at the airport and struggling to consume food and liquids.
After being bitten by a mosquito in Nigeria, an Australian socialite undergoes 36 surgeries and has both feet amputated.
Rodriguez was airlifted to the Massachusetts General Hospital, where an infectious diseases specialist determined that she had cerebral malaria and treated her accordingly. By that point, she had slipped into a coma. Rodriguez had a two percent chance of survival, according to the physicians, after taking Artesunate, a medicine used to treat severe malaria, caused her to go into septic shock and suffer organ failure.
A final ditch effort to save her life involved using vasopressor drugs, which were used to redirect blood flow away from her limbs and towards her vital organs.
"They knew it was the last trick in the book, and they warned my family that if I survived, there would be unintended consequences for them. The vasopressors deprived my feet and hands, which were the areas that were the furthest away from my heart, of blood, and the areas that were left without blood and oxygen began to die, much like frostbite "she opined
Her feet and hands became black from necrosis as a result of the medicines, and she even observed her own toe fall off and land in her hand at one point.
Rodriguez was taken back to Australia, where doctors informed him that he would have to have an above-the-knee amputation as well as the removal of numerous fingers. Rodriguez claimed she was terrified of the prospect of having the surgery done and instead decided to undergo a series of skin grafts and procedures to see whether her condition would improve as a result of them.
At some point, she realised she couldn't put off having her remaining toes severed any longer and made the decision to have them done right away.
Rodriguez was confined to a wheelchair and unable to stand due to severe discomfort, so he underwent major surgery to have both feet amputated and replaced with bilateral osseointegrated implants and mechanical feet above the ankle.
Rodriguez's prosthetic feet are attached to the ends of each rod with the help of an allen key, allowing him to move around more freely once more.
Rodriguez, however, is the first woman in Australia to receive the implants and artificial feet, which were designed by an Australian professor, Munjed Al Muderis, after thirty-six procedures.
He persuaded her that she had no choice but to give up her blackened, dead feet if she wanted to walk again. He went on to become a leading robotic limb surgeon in the world.
The recent milestone of being able to walk in a pair of 4cm kitten heels again was hailed by Rodriguez, who had undergone surgery and endured hours of agonising rehabilitation.
"The only way I ever felt 'dressed' was if I was wearing a fantastic pair of shoes; the higher the heels, the better. That's exactly the type of girl I used to be... and still am "" she explained.