A mother of two from Indiana said she nearly lost her leg from an infection she allegedly contracted from a hot tub while on vacation.
“I was thankful to have my leg but more so thankful I am here today,” Bryant recalled to the magazine. “There were plenty of days where I was down and hard on myself feeling like I wasn’t getting better.”
“My doctor would remind me that it takes time to heal,” she continued, adding that “it just doesn’t go away easily.”
While on a vacation in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and developed cramping and nausea.
“Unbearable” pain in her leg followed, and the woman was left unable to walk, WISH reported.
Bryant then went to an urgent care clinic before she was given antibiotics. It got worse.
When Bryant, her children, and husband arrived back in Indianapolis, she noticed more cramping in her leg, a rash was spreading, and blisters were also present, she told the news outlet.
She was diagnosed with cellulitis, a common bacteria that can become life-threatening if gone untreated. However, after receiving more antibiotics, her leg didn’t improve.
“I thought I was going to lose my leg,” Bryant said. “They told me they couldn’t make any promises… and even if things went well, I might need skin grafts.”
“It didn’t feel like it was part of me,” she recalled. “To see all the pus and the color changes was creepy.”
After two weeks of IV antibiotics, doctors said she would be able to recover from her infection.
“I hugged [the doctor],” Bryant added. “I just squeezed her. The whole time I was in the hospital, I was wondering, ‘Will I ever get better?'”
After the ordeal, doctors told her that she may have contracted the infection after going in the hotel’s hot tub.
“[This incident] changed my view on hot tubs,” she told People. “I used to think they were nice and relaxing. Now I know how nasty they can be so fast. I will not be going back in one.”
She also filed an incident report with the hotel, which she did not identify, after noticing the rash.
“I want people to see the chance they take in hot tubs,” she added. “It’s not just oceans and lakes anymore. This can be just from a break of skin, for example, shaving [your] legs [and] then getting in [a] hot tub.”
“Hot tub rash can occur if contaminated water comes in contact with skin for a long period of time. The rash usually appears within a few days of being in a poorly maintained hot tub (or spa), but it can also appear within a few days after swimming in a poorly maintained pool or contaminated lake. Most rashes clear up in a few days without medical treatment. However, if your rash lasts longer than a few days, consult your health care provider,” the agency says.
