A young Australian mother has become partially paralyzed due to a staph infection that has attacked her spine. 27-year-old Jo Gilchrist said she caught the staph infection after borrowing a makeup brush from her best friend.
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| Woman Paralyzed After Using Friend’s Makeup Brush. |
Gilchrist told
Daily Mail that on Valentine’s Day she started to feel excruciating pain her back. The pain eventually became too difficult to deal with as she lost majority of the feeling in her lower body and legs. Gilchrist was then airlifted to a nearby hospital where she received emergency surgery.
During her surgery it was discovered that Gilchrist had a MRSA staph infection, which is an antibiotic resistant form of staph. Gilchrist stated that her best friend previously had a staph infection on her face, when she decided to use the same makeup brush to conceal a pimple.
“My friend did have a staph infection on her face and I was using her brush just before. I had no idea that could even happen, I used to share with my friends all the time. My best friend feels horrible, but it’s not her fault at all. I just had a low immune system and it was the perfect breeding ground for the bacteria.”
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| Woman Paralyzed After Using Friend’s Makeup Brush. |
The infection has damaged Jo Gilchrist’s spine so bad that she will no longer be able to walk and she would most likely be confined to a wheelchair. Gilchrist said that she is grateful that the infection went to her spine instead of her limbs and brain because she wouldn’t be alive today. As of now, doctors are still giving Jo Gilchrist antibiotics to rid her body of the staph infection so that she can be cleared to return home and be with her two-year-old son, Tommy.
