Woman Has Limbs Amputated After Suffering Rare Form Of Strep Throat

KNOXVILLE, TN (CBS) – A Tennessee woman is alive after losing limbs in a brutal battle against strep throat.

Shelby Smith of Knoxville thought she had a common case of strep throat until she started convulsing and her lips turned blue.

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Her throat began closing up and her organs started to fail. She was in a medically induced coma for a week.

Smith woke up to find that she had lost circulation in most of her fingers and she had lost an index finger on her left hand.

"There was a pretty big chance I could've died. Little did I know that I was going into septic shock."

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Dr. Jeffry King, an Infectious Disease Specialist says, "These cases are very rare, a few hundred cases a year. This is one of the most life-threatening illnesses that we see as far as a bacterial infection."

In the end, it was the medicine that was re-directing blood-flow to Smith's organs and killing circulation in her hands and toes.