By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
It sounds straight out of a movie script – a much anticipated holiday to Spain to connect with family they hadn’t seen in nearly a decade ended up going terribly wrong, turning from dream vacation to holiday from hell for one Osoyoos family.
In the end, Sonja Domene was lucky to return home without losing her leg to a serious infection. It may not be exactly a happy ending, but she is now finally on the road to recovery back safely in her Osoyoos home.
It all started towards the end of what was a five week vacation her daughter Melodie said, speaking to the Times Chronicle. “During the last week we went to Granada for a couple of days and we were doing a lot of walking around. My mom started complaining of really bad leg pain, and she was like, shivering at night,” she explains.
She says that the family didn’t think all that much about it, just that it was probably from walking so much. Melodie and her partner went off to Barcelona for a couple of days before flying back to Canada.
Sonja Domene is greeted at Kelowna Airport by husband and daughter Melodie on her birthday on Oct. 26.
Contributed photo
But during this time her mother went to the hospital after the pain in her leg became unbearable. After spending 15 hours at a hospital undergoing all kinds of tests she was sent home with some antibiotics for what was diagnosed as an infection.
Melodie says that after two days there was no improvement and in fact her leg had doubled in size and developed huge blisters. Upon getting off the plane Melodie says “I got a message from my dad saying that my mom was in the hospital having emergency surgery.”
That surgery involved slicing her leg open on both sides to drain nearly two litres of fluid that had built up. It turns out that she was given the wrong type of antibiotics. That initial surgery was followed by another and because her leg was still infected and oozing, doctors were unable to close the wound.
Eventually she was given the go-ahead to travel, despite the fact her incisions were still open, and to make matters worse when she arrived back in Canada it was discovered that she had necrotizing fasciitis, more commonly known as “flesh eating disease”, a rare but severe bacterial infection that spreads rapidly through the tissues surrounding the muscles leading to tissue death.
When the Times Chronicle spoke to Melodie her mom had been on the correct antibiotics and had virtually recovered from the flesh eating bacteria, but her wounds were still healing. Sonja is recovering at home with home nursing visits she added. She noted it would be a long road ahead because of the damage done to muscle tissue, including extensive physiotherapy.
“She’s in pretty good spirits but she’s upset at her leg being butchered,” she said.
Sonja arrived home in mid-October – coincidentally on her birthday – after the harrowing ordeal which also saw the family chalk up huge bills for medical treatment, and air fare as Sonja could only fly business class home due to the need to keep her leg flat.
Sonja Domene’s leg showing the incision along the left side to enable draining.
Contributed photo
Melodie said that due to a pre-existing condition (unrelated to the leg infection) she was denied travel insurance. Each day Sonja was in the Spanish hospital cost nearly 750 euro, (about CAD1,200), bringing the total bill to nearly $20,000 just for medical expenses alone.
This prompted Melodie to suggest to her parents that she set up a GoFundMe to ask the community for assistance. Her parents were reluctant, she says. “They’re very humble people,” she says, noting they’re long time residents and business owners in Osoyoos (if the name rings a bell it’s probably because they are the couple behind Manuel’s Tiles).
In the end she convinced them they shouldn’t be embarrassed to ask for help from the community for something so unexpected and costly. Melodie set up the GoFundMe page “Help Bring My Mom Home to Canada After a Medical Emergency” but the problem is the couple isn’t really plugged into social networks.
On the GoFundMe page Melodie says her mom has remained “unbelievably strong” through the whole ordeal. “She’s faced every challenge life has thrown at her with courage and determination, but this time she needs help.”
“We’re asking for support to help cover her growing medical expenses, travel costs, and recovery needs. Every donation, no matter the size, will make a difference. Even sharing this page or sending prayers means so much to us.
“From the bottom of our hearts — thank you for your compassion, generosity, and love during this incredibly difficult time.”
