Another South Carolina woman has been infected with flesh-eating bacteria. Ann Marie Johnson has been a patient at Palmetto Health Baptist since April. She's one of four people being treated with the bacteria in the Midlands.
Johnson remains on the 8th floor at the hospital with her spirit strong despite all she's been through.
On April 25, Johnson was in so much pain after bowling, she didn't go home and went straight to the hospital.
"It was so red and swollen, like you know how a balloon just tightens like you could pop it if you had a pin," Johnson said.
It was an infection that started in her leg, spread to her chest, then her hand and forearm. Dr. Helmut Albrecht isn't Ann's doctor, but he does tract infectious diseases in the Midlands.
"This was a no-brainer," Albrecht said. "They knew what she had, they thought even to the bacterium, that's what she would have and that's what she had.
"He said you're more than likely going to lose your hand, so I accepted that because I could like feel my fingers, but part of it was numb and then the other part I could move them," Johnson said.
The amputation was done two weeks after making the decision to go to the ER, a bacteria she'd heard little about, but learned quickly from other severe cases on TV.
"It's just so interesting and weird how all three of us have caught it differently," Johnson said.
"The young lady in Georgia has a very different bacteria than our patient here and the one that I just saw over the weekend has a totally different problem as well, but they all result in this kind of rapidly progressing infection," Albrecht said.
That's why states like South Carolina don't track the disease.
"It's the bacterium that causes Strep throat and there are millions of cases every month in the U.S. very seldom it causes these type of infections," Albrecht said.
Still, it's a warning for those with an infection -- if it doesn't feel right, don't wait see a doctor.
"What the providers need to know is to recognize this early and treat this early," Albrecht said.
Walking the halls is part of Ann's physical therapy.
"Oh, they're killing me, they're killing me, but it helps, because day by day I get a little bit stronger," Johnson said.
Johnson's strong enough after two and a half months of help from friends and prayers to finally prepare to go home.
Johnson hopes she can be released from the hospital by the end of the week or early next week.
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