KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A Tennessee woman says a small nick at a local nail salon was all it took for flesh-eating bacteria to start destroying her thumb.
Jayne Sharp has since had multiple surgeries to treat the necrotizing fasciitis, lost feeling in the digit and experiences tingling in her other fingers, she told WATE.
“I was totally shocked that you could walk into a nail salon and have this happen to you,” she said.
Sharp’s nightmare began in February when she went to get her nails done at the Jazzy Nail Bar in Knoxville.
She knew something was wrong when, two hours after leaving the salon, Sharp says she developed flu-like symptoms and her thumb began to ache.
She went to the hospital where she was given medicine for the pain and a nurse told her to monitor the symptoms and stay in touch. Sharp said she credits the nurse for potentially saving her life by waking her up to check on her condition during the night.
” … the doctors said if I hadn’t gotten to the emergency room when I did, that I wouldn’t be here,” Sharp said.
Several surgeries later, Sharp is missing part of her thumb but is grateful to be alive.
Jazzy Nails did not return a request for comment.