A doctor has issued a chilling alert regarding the risks of sharing personal items, following a near-fatal incident involving an Australian woman.
In 2015, Jo Gilchrist from Queensland, Australia, experienced a life-altering situation after using an everyday item borrowed from a friend.
Unbeknownst to Jo, her friend had a bacterial infection known as Staphylococcus, typically treatable with antibiotics.
Unfortunately, the bacteria that entered Jo’s bloodstream through a minor cut on her face was a Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) strain, which is resistant to drugs like penicillin.
Jo ended up in a wheelchair after using her friend’s makeup brush to conceal a pimple.
In an interview with 9Entertainment about her ordeal, she described, “It travelled around my body, into my spinal column and slowly strangled my spinal cord. I did at one stage think I was going to die, and I was dying slowly.”
She further explained: “Lying in surgery staring at the lights, hyperventilating, telling them, ‘I’ve got a two-year-old who needs me, I’m all he’s got,’ that was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever been through.”
Jo underwent five months of hospitalization, but an intensive rehabilitation program helped her walk again.
“I found this incredible place called Making Strides. Sometimes they’re teaching people how to walk again or take their first steps, or they’re teaching people to become more independent with their spinal cord injuries,” she mentioned to 9Entertainment.
“In my case, I was just incredibly lucky to have the message go down to my legs to be able to move them in the first place.
“To go from being mostly in my wheelchair to running, it’s just incredible. I never ever thought that was possible, especially when you get told, ‘You won’t walk again, you can’t do this’.”
Dr. Samuel Choudhury, a Singapore-based doctor, shared Jo’s experience on Instagram to highlight the dangers of sharing personal items like makeup brushes.
“It can still happen to anyone…say no to MRSA [and] don’t share make-up brushes,” he advised.
Jo encourages anyone who suspects something is amiss with their health to seek medical advice promptly.
“Once you’ve been dealt a not so great hand, you do have the ability to stand up and fight for a little bit more independence or to overcome trauma,” she told 9Entertainment.
“There’s always a possibility that you might come out better than you ever thought was possible.”