Flesh-eating disease horror I HAVE NEVER KNOWN PAIN LIKE IT

Amy can't believe that something as small as a pimple had her fighting for her life

- Cloe Willetts

When Amy Kilgour popped an ingrown hair near her groin one morning in August, the last thing she imagined was that it would cause her to catch a deadly flesh-eating disease.

But after being diagnosed with necrotising fasciitis, a serious bacterial infection, the Christchurch local is recovering from 10 life-saving surgeries that cut away 10 kilos of destroyed flesh.

“The doctors said I would’ve died if I’d left it one more day before going to hospital,” says Amy, 38, who has been back at home for three weeks.

“The ingrown hair burst under my skin on a Saturday morning, and a day later it was a bit red and bruised, but I figured I just pressed it too hard. A day after that, I couldn’t even stand up straight because I was in so much agony.”

Amy’s pain was so bad, she didn’t notice she hadn’t urinated in 24 hours, despite drinking large amounts of water. After reporting a “burning pressure” sensation, her quick-thinking GP instructed her to immediately go to hospital.