Minor mosquito bite on Cork woman led to amputation of both legs

A 13-year-old grandmother had to have both legs amputated after being bitten by an insect in her garden.

Josie Rowley, 69, was tending to her plants in her garden last September when she was bitten on her left leg by an insect.

The keen gardener from Bantry Bay, Cork, Ireland, noticed two red marks on her leg as she was getting ready for bed but didn’t think the ‘mosquito bite’-sized holes were. But days later the bite marks turned into ‘horrific’ sores.

After two failed courses of antibiotics, she was referred to hospital, where she was given compression bandages and three rounds of leech therapy to combat the infection.

The compression bandages slowed her circulation so much that her toes turned black, and doctors were forced to amputate both legs above the knee.

Josie Rowley, 69, was tending to her plants in her garden when she was bitten on her left leg by an insect in September last year.

The keen gardener from Bantry Bay, Cork, Ireland, pictured with her 41-year-old daughter Jen Rowley, noticed two red spots on her leg as she got ready for bed but didn’t think about the ‘mosquito bite’-sized holes

Mrs Rowley is devastated by the incident and shocked that something as small as an insect bite can cause so much damage.

“I don’t know exactly what bit me because it wasn’t until I went to bed that I noticed two small round red spots on my left lower leg,” she said.

‘I thought maybe an ant or some other bug had crawled into my jeans.

‘The next day they had gotten much bigger and over time they became painful and turned into these horrible sores. That’s when I had pressure bandages put on.

‘The bites weren’t even a millimeter big at first, they looked like a small mosquito bite.’

However, after a nurse applied pressure bandages, blood flow was not sufficient to heal the wounds and her toes began to turn black.

Days later, the bite marks turned into “horrible” sores and her GP prescribed her antibiotics

After two rounds of failed antibiotics and painkillers, she was referred to the hospital, where she was given compression bandages and tried three rounds of leech therapy to tackle the infection

‘Their [the hospital] “The solution was to amputate above the knee and that’s what ended up happening,” Rowley said.

We have tried other alternatives [before then] and even tried leech therapy, which was not exactly pleasant.

‘I was devastated because surely this couldn’t all have happened because of a few insect bites? It was crazy, I’ve been gardening for years and years.

‘I had an underlying health condition, namely arthritis, which also wasn’t helping in my hands and ankles.

‘When I lost my first leg, I was so calm when I came out of the operating room, but 10 days later they removed my other leg.

‘With one amputation you can still move a little bit, but when they took off the other leg, it was a different story.

It seems unbelievable [that an insect bite caused this]I have been bitten so many times over the years and have lived abroad where the insects are worse.

‘You don’t think something like this can happen in your own garden.

“I’ve just had to adapt. There are so many things now that I think I can just do, but I can’t.”

The compression bandages slowed her circulation so much that her toes turned black, leaving her with no choice but to have both legs amputated above the knee.

After months of being in and out of hospital, Mrs Rowley was readmitted to hospital in February with extreme pain and had both legs amputated within a ten-day period in March.

Insect bites and stings are usually not serious and usually go away within a few days.

But in some cases they can become infected or cause serious allergic reactions, the NHS warns.

After months of being in and out of hospital, Mrs Rowley was readmitted to hospital in February with extreme pain. In March, both legs were amputated within a ten-day period.

After her discharge, she now lives with her 41-year-old daughter Jen Rowley, as she cannot move until changes are made to her home.

Since Mrs. Rowley’s surgery, her daughter has had a GoFundMe page to raise money to purchase a wheelchair accessible vehicle to help her mother get around.

After her discharge, she now lives with her 41-year-old daughter Jen Rowley, as she cannot move until changes are made to her home.

Mrs Rowley said: ‘A wheelchair accessible vehicle would help me enormously.

‘If I have an appointment now, it’s about a 15 to 20 minute walk to the bus stop.

‘I’m lucky enough to have an electric wheelchair and I’ve taken the bus a few times.

‘It’s not that bad, but of course it would be a lot easier to go shopping and visit my family and new granddaughter if I had a car that I could put my wheelchair in.

‘I am here now and I have to get used to the situation, but at the moment I cannot go home because the social housing I rent needs to be renovated. That is why I am now living with my daughter.

“Jen was kind enough to clear out her living room so we could set up a hospital bed.”