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Woman survives 'losing her skin'

wdlove

wdlove

macrumors P6
Original poster
Oct 20, 2002
16,568
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A woman whose entire skin peeled off after a rare reaction to a drug has made a 'miraculous' recovery. Sarah Yeargain of from San Diego, California, developed the often fatal condition after taking an antibiotic.

She developed blisters and swelling on her face and within days, her skin was coming off "in sheets".

This happened to a teenager here in Massachusetts last month, she also survived.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3383581.stm

I believe that the power of prayer is very beneficial. We do not know the reason that this kind or any other kind of tragedy occurs. Just need to put our faith in God or whatever higher power that you pray.

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/184-Donated_housecoat_holds_an_unexpected_gift_.html
 
You know, without the doctors giving her the proper medical treatment, she would have died. 100% mortality rate. They gave her an entire synthetic skin wrap within 48 hours and medication to keep her organs from bleeding.

Man, those doctors deserve a fat raise.

Whether or not you believe in God, this is still a miracle.
 
Even the skin on her internal organs and the membranes covering her mouth, throat and eyes came away.
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Ouch - this woman went through some nasty stuff - its amazing she's alive. I'd love to see how the regrowing of her skin works out. Does she look like she did, or is there any scaring. I know its not like a burn victim, but its the only thing similar.

D
 
My little sister had the same condition when she was about 2. Came from a bacterial infection. Scary stuff, it was touch and go for quite a while.
 
Re: Woman survives 'losing her skin'

Originally posted by wdlove
I believe that the power of prayer is very beneficial. We do not know the reason that this kind or any other kind of tragedy occurs. Just need to put our faith in God or whatever higher power that you pray.
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Um... not to discount prayer....

but this is stevens johnson syndrome. This news article is a bit over the top. Attributing this woman's recovery as something of a "miracle" is akin to someone surviving a severe pneumonia by getting the proper antibiotics as a "miracle". True they beat the odds, but I wouldn't yet invoke divine intervetion perse.

That being said, the disease isn't good... and is one of the reasons that doctors shouldn't give out antibiotic prescriptions to everyone who wants one (ie. Viral illnesses). This is one of those rare side effects that happens with seemingly "benign" antibiotics.

arn
 
Originally posted by pooky
My little sister had the same condition when she was about 2. Came from a bacterial infection. Scary stuff, it was touch and go for quite a while.
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I'm glad to hear that your sister is OK pooky. Unless you have had a first hand account it's really hard to imagine how scary this really can be.

A different perspective to arn, the physicians at my Church admit that their knowledge comes from God.
 
Originally posted by wdlove
I'm glad to hear that your sister is OK pooky. Unless you have had a first hand account it's really hard to imagine how scary this really can be.
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She's fine, it was a long time ago. But I have to wonder, why didn't she get a story in the paper?!
 
Originally posted by wdlove

A different perspective to arn, the physicians at my Church admit that their knowledge comes from God.
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that's fine... :) As long as you're also relying on the physicians for serious medical conditions...

I just don't agree with the science OR God positions.

(It's like that joke about the person in the flood sending away the car, a boat and a helicopter... waiting for God to help. he dies, goes to heaven and asks God why he didn't help... and God says... "I sent a car, a boat and a helicopter!")

arn
 
I heard about this on the news on the way home from work the other day. Very creepy--I'll probably think of this story every time I take a prescription drug now. I'm glad she's ok.
 
Originally posted by arn
that's fine... :) As long as you're also relying on the physicians for serious medical conditions...

I just don't agree with the science OR God positions.

(It's like that joke about the person in the flood sending away the car, a boat and a helicopter... waiting for God to help. he dies, goes to heaven and asks God why he didn't help... and God says... "I sent a car, a boat and a helicopter!")

arn
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Yes, we do need a physicians help.

My on pastor has used that story several times. God sends us a lot of help the problem is that we often reject his help and think that we can do it ourselves. The problem is that we need to trust him.
 
Not to turn this into a religious debate or anything, but I don't believe in any supreme beings (gods, etc.). If I was in a near fatal condition, I'd be hoping the doctors do a good job, not praying to a nonexistant being. It was the doctors who saved her, and possibly one major will to survive.

Eh, whatever. I'm a pessimist who has a few beliefs of my own.
 
Well that is a touching story, but people have survived SJS before and some fully recover.
As far as what has been said about divine intervention here, it sickens me when something like a disaster happens, such as 9/11, and one of the survivors says something along the lines of "god was watching over me..." What about all the others, what makes you feel so special that "god" would take a special interest in your life?
 
yeah, it seems like the only reason people have survived this is due to recent advances in medical science... so if it was prayer, we'd have to believe that up until these last few cases, no one prayed for any of the earlier cases. because god certainly didn't save *them*.

paul
 
Originally posted by Independence
Not to turn this into a religious debate or anything, but I don't believe in any supreme beings (gods, etc.). If I was in a near fatal condition, I'd be hoping the doctors do a good job, not praying to a nonexistant being. It was the doctors who saved her, and possibly one major will to survive.

Eh, whatever. I'm a pessimist who has a few beliefs of my own.
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That's interesting. I'm not exactly a believer, but the other night when my car was spinning in th snow on a two lane country road, my faith was at an all-time high!
But, I'd rather people praise god when something good happens, as does WDLove, than use god as an excuse to attack people when they are doing something "bad", as do so many fundmentalists of most relgions.
 
yes, faith used in positive ways is definitely better than the negative. personally, i do believe in the power of prayer in healing, because i believe it's self-hypnosis and healing energy that's channeled by the conscious mind. perhaps healing energy is even weirder than prayer, but i firmly believe it's real. now, i don't think self-hypnosis or healing energy alone will cure disease or anything, but i do believe it can cut recovery times, and help people pull through risky surgeries, etc...

paul
 
Originally posted by TimDaddy
That's interesting. I'm not exactly a believer, but the other night when my car was spinning in th snow on a two lane country road, my faith was at an all-time high!
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Well, as the saying goes, there are no atheists in a foxhole. Don't know how true it is, but whatever gets you through a traumatic situation works for me.

This is truly unbelivable. I can't even imagine going through something like that. Hopefully they will learn something from this that will help other people in similar situations.
 
Originally posted by TimDaddy
That's interesting. I'm not exactly a believer, but the other night when my car was spinning in th snow on a two lane country road, my faith was at an all-time high!
But, I'd rather people praise god when something good happens, as does WDLove, than use god as an excuse to attack people when they are doing something "bad", as do so many fundmentalists of most relgions.
Click to expand...

You are correct TimDaddy, thank you. It is important to remember God in the good times as well as the bad. If we trust him when things are going well, then it will be easier when things are bad.

To answer medea, God is omnipresent. He was actually with all those individuals in 9/11. His hope that all would turn to him. We all have individual choice.
 
what a horrible condition! My aunt recently got ttp which is where your body destroys its own blood. she had almost no platelets when they got her to the hospital. She's recovering thanks to some VERY recent technology and a VERY GOOD hospital staff...starting rehab, kinda able to walk now.

it's been a month, and will probably be another until she can think about leaving. Do not downplay the amazing things modern science can do. At least there is a known cause for this. They don't know what causes ttp. it's scary when someone you know and love gets a rare and likely fatal condition.

Good doctors, proper care, and catching things with enough time are crucial. that I know for a fact...
 
As people have said about religion and healing- I think we should all respect everyone's beliefs [if they have any], especially if you believe in God. Don't flame people just because they think God helped them get through things and you don't, it is just their belief.

About the 9/11 thing- Most people who believe in God also believe that He is superior to us- in all ways. We have no way of telling what He can do - since He is not human. He may need people in Heaven and He may need others on Earth, but most Christians believe he can focus on everyone always.

I think the power of prayer helped this person overcome this awful disease- as well as the care and love of other human beings.

-aj
 
Originally posted by wdlove
Yes, we do need a physicians help.

My on pastor has used that story several times. God sends us a lot of help the problem is that we often reject his help and think that we can do it ourselves. The problem is that we need to trust him.
Click to expand...

I guess that's as long as we live in a nice rich country and can afford the treatment.
 
If people want to attribute their recovery to God, and if that makes them feel better (emotionally) then I guess that's fine for them.

But I have to wonder... suppose one were forced to choose. Either rely on divine providence and forego earthly medical treatment, or rely on doctors but forego prayer.

Of course the dogmatically proper thing to say would be that one should choose God, seeing as how He is omnipotent and humans are fallable and all that. But I think you and I both know what the overwhelming majority of people would actually choose.

Some doctors may say their skill comes from God, but they still cash the checks. If they're under, say, 40 or so, they'll have to, because they'll still be paying off the loans they took out to be trained by human beings in the skills they now say come from God. And who licenses these doctors to practice medicine, the church or the state? Would you choose a doctor licensed by a church over one licensed by the state?

Religious people are welcome to the conceit that when things turn out well it's God's doing (and that when things turn out badly it's His Ineffable Divine Plan), but let's give to Caesar what is Caesar's here, or in this case, to earthly medical science and skilled doctors, which are all too often simply dismissed in favor of the patient's pet supernatural beliefs.
 
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