Woman suffers Toxic Shock Syndrome caused  by Tampons

    
 A mother-of-three was unable to recognise her daughters after being placed in a coma as her body fought toxic shock syndrome, caused by a tampon.

Joanna Cartwright, from Doncaster in South Yorkshire, thought she was suffering a bout of flu when she fell ill.

But three days later, slipping in and out of consciousness, she was rushed to hospital.

There doctors told her family she was just hours from death, her internal organs were beginning to fail.

Eight layers of her skin had peeled off, her hands had swollen, she had lost 50 per cent of her hair and all her nails had fallen off. 

Doctors placed the 27-year-old in a medically induced coma as her body battled the bacteria invading her bloodstream.

 When she woke eight days later medics explained the TSS, which had been caused by a tampon, had caused Ms Cartwright to suffer meningitis as well.

Looking at pictures of her daughters, Lacey, eight, Nicole, seven and three-year-old Scarlett-Rose, Ms Cartwright drew a blank.

But the mother-of-three has now overcome her ordeal, re-learning to walk after intense physiotherapy.  

She said: 'When I woke up from the coma I didn't know what was going on - I couldn't remember anything.

Someone had put pictures up of my children but I didn't know who they were.

'People were pointing at the girls and asking me to name them, but I didn't know.

'I knew I recognised them but I just couldn't place them.

'I was put in the coma on my 25th birthday so when I woke up I was surrounded by birthday cards.

'A nurse was reading the cards out to me but I didn't know any of the names - I didn't even realise it had been my birthday.

'All I really knew was that I was very poorly, and I thought I was going to die.'

Ms Cartwright first fell ill with what she thought was flu.

But when she started struggling to breathe and drifted in and out of consciousness, her mother and partner, Steven, 28, rushed her to hospital.

They were told by medics the then 24-year-old was just hours from death. 

'The last thing I remember is being in the car racing towards the hospital,' Ms Cartwright said.

'My internal organs were shutting down so I was put on life support, and put into a medically induced coma.  

'My hands had swollen, about eight layers of skin peeled of, I lost about 50 per cent of my hair, and all my nails fell off - I must have looked horrendous.'

Eight days later, when she woke from her coma, Ms Cartwright's memory was blank.

Doctors told her the TSS, which had been caused by a tampon, had caused her to suffer meningitis. 

She said: 'It's very strange to wake up and not know who you are or where you are.

'I tried to speak but by the time I'd got to the end of a sentence I couldn't remember why I'd started it.

'Even now people will mention things to me - something I've done, or somewhere I went - and I don't know what they're talking about.

'I was so confused and disorientated - I even thought my brother was my boyfriend.

'I ended up discharging myself because I felt so unsure of everything.

'It wasn't until two days later when I called the doctors for a follow up that they told me I had suffered from toxic shock syndrome along with meningococcal septicemia.