Flesh-eating bug victim feels ‘lucky to be alive’

A mother-of-two yesterday said she felt lucky to be alive after her face was attacked by a flesh-eating bug.

Tracy Marjoram, 42, of Dereham, Norfolk, lost her upper cheek and had her right eye fused together after being infected with the life-threatening necrotising fasciitis bacteria.

The school catering assistant had been working on her allotment in June 2005 when she felt an itching sensation in the corner of her eye.

She later went to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, where doctors diagnosed the rare condition and placed her in intensive care.

Surgeons then operated to remove the infected tissue. Following successful surgery, Mrs Marjoram underwent a further three operations to reconstruct her face.

Six months later Mrs Marjoram hails the work of hospital surgeon Bijan Beigi.

“I felt like a freak when I first came out of hospital. I had three months off work, when I went back my eye was just a slit. But Mr Beigi has done such a wonderful job repairing all the flesh that had been eaten away.”

Mr Beigi, who performs 500 eyelid and face operations a year, said he had seen just five similar cases in the past 10 years.

“Once the disease has spread to the neck and chest, there is a 90% chance of dying,” he said.

“Going through that and coming out of it is an achievement for her.”

Mr Beigi said he was pleased with the results of his work.

“Achieving the functional part of the eyelid is the most difficult thing,” he said. “It is not just how they look, they should shut well and open well. If you don’t have a working eyelid, you will lose your eye within five or 10 years.

“She is young and I am pleased that, not only does she look normal, she has a working eyelid.”

A hospital spokeswoman said necrotising fasciitis was a “rare bacterial infection that can destroy skin and the soft tissues beneath it, including fat and the tissue covering the muscles”.

About 30% of people who develop necrotising fasciitis die from the disease, she said.

The spokeswoman said it was not known how Mrs Marjoram became infected with the condition.