A Valley mom and teacher whose story went viral after she contracted a flesh-eating bacterial infection is finally awake and speaking out for the first time about the scary ordeal that almost claimed her life.
Christin Lipinski was rushed into surgery on January 11th, after learning she had a rare case of Necrotizing Fasciitis, a flesh-eating bacterial infection.
Support for her came pouring in as the infection ate away at 30% of her body from her upper left shoulder down to her upper thigh.
Lipinski was intubated and put under heavy sedation while she recovered from countless surgeries while surgeons and doctors worked to keep the infection from spreading.
Earlier this week, she finally woke up and expressed her gratitude for the incredible outpouring of support that came to her and her family.
“To everyone who has written to me, I’ve read your responses. You said I touched you with my strength and healing and you’ve touched me and you caring for a school teacher and mother who contracted this disease, and you’ve given your time and love and shared your donations with my family and prayed, and I just thank you. You have gotten me through this and thank you, so much,” said Christin Lipinski speaking from her hospital bed.
Lipinski says she is finding strength in her family and friends who never left her side, but also from the many survivors of this deadly bacterial infection who have shared their stories.
“They’re my instant friend,” she said. “I’ve already reached out to a few…to be able to vent to someone who's been through it and understands…it’s really helped answer questions and find peace.”
But the road to recovery is still a long one. Though she expects to be out of the hospital by next week, she still is moving to a rehab facility to continue her therapy to regain strength in her left arm and legs.
“I still have a lot of physical recovery to do,” said Lipinski. “I still have to work on my left-hand movement and walking.”
While this ordeal has changed her way of life, it hasn’t broken her spirit or her fight to get back to the many plans her family had made at the start of the new year.
“We’d love to go camping in the camper, and we are planning a Disneyland trip so, yes, mommy has to be quite healthy for Disneyland,” Lipinski said with a smile.
This experience, she says, has been an eye-opener and she says it has made her more hypersensitive and will be more conscious around her kids.
“I hear them tell me it’s a once in a lifetime thing and it’ll never happen again, and it just makes you so aware of everything, and I’m gonna look at things and think about things two or three times more than I do,” she said.
