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Originally Posted at: http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=3185730&nav=5D7lYRyK
Posted: April 8, 2005 at 11:17 a.m.
SAN JOSE (KRON) -- Flesh-eating bacteria sound awful. And they are.
A San Jose man recently lost a foot and part of his leg to the rare bacteria.
"They told me I was really lucky because at first they wanted to take my whole leg off," said Mitchell Baker.
Instead, doctors at Kaiser Santa Teresa amputated Baker's right leg just below the knee, saving his life.
"When they first looked at the foot they could tell ... it was eaten around the ankle, he said."
It was eaten by an extremely rare bacteria called "necrotizing fascitis," a form of strep, which are thought to spread by personal contact, through a cut or abrasion. But Baker had neither.
"There was no puncture, no bug bite," he said. "How I got it is a mystery."
About 20 percent of sufferers do not survive an infection. But Baker's prognosis is good and there is no sign the infection has spread.
Baker will be fitted with a prosthesis and return to work at a San Jose hardware store where he is known for his sense of humor as well as his way with customers and co-workers alike.
"I had one employee who was depressed when he went down to see Mitchell, but when he came back, he was elated because Mitchell was great and told him everything was going to be okay," said co-worker Salley Dremer.
Through it all, Baker has remained positive.
"Just think about all those kids going over to Iraq. You're 21 years-old and you're getting your leg blown off. At least I got some use out of it. I'm 47 years old. It's too bad, but I'm alive."