Local

Woman loses leg due to mysterious infection

CARROLLTON, Ga. — A mysterious infection caused a local woman to lose her leg. She said she became very ill after shaving her leg in a bathtub and nicking her foot with a razor. It's something women do every day.

Jaimee Meeks is still in rehab at Tanner Medical Center in Carroll County. She's looking forward to being home by New Year's Eve, though she knows she has a long and emotional road ahead.

"The physical pain isn't the bad part, it's the mental," Meeks said.

Channel 2's Liz Artz sat down with Meeks almost one week to the day since doctors had to amputate her left leg. The 26-year-old said she's was in good health Dec. 16 when she nicked her foot shaving in the bathtub. They were three tiny cuts she said led to a mysterious and painful infection.

"By the third day the pain was excruciating," Meeks said.

She went to the hospital and didn't leave. Doctors told her the infection was so bad if they didn't amputate below the knee it could quickly spread.

"I didn't want to lose it at the hip," Meeks said.

A surgeon removed several infected areas on her right leg and part of her left leg. The scariest part is doctors still don't know how Meeks exactly she got the infection.

"It will be a mystery. Only God knows," Meeks said.

Meeks doesn't have insurance. Her wheelchair was donated along with a walker, but she said her needs will be great when she leaves the hospital. She'll have to start over without a handicap-accessible apartment or car.

"All I know is I'm going to walk again. I don't care what it takes," Meeks said.

Meeks told Artz she would like the opportunity to sit down and talk with someone who has gone through what she is going through now.