A DEADLY flesh-eating bug left a Cheltenham grandfather in hospital fearing he had just three hours left to live.
Former Echo crime reporter Dennis Apperly was left desperately battling for survival after being diagnosed with necrotising cellulitis – an infection which kills cells and spreads rapidly once it takes hold.
The 67-year-old, who lives in Pittville Lawn, watched in horror as the bug spread up his leg, with painful blisters appearing by the minute.
Doctors admitted that he could die if they could not stop it spreading. They also told him they might need to amputate his leg.
Thankfully, after administering a massive cocktail of antibiotics, they were able to halt the infection and he is expected to make a full recovery.
"It was an absolutely terrifying experience," he said.
"As I was watching, blisters were appearing by the minute further and further up my leg. If it had got to my vital organs they would have started to shut down and I would have died. At one point I was told I could have just three hours to live which put the fear of God into me.
"Then doctors said the only option might be to have my leg amputated unless the right combination of antibiotics could be found in time."
Three days before he was taken to hospital, on February 10, Dennis began to feel unwell.
"I thought it was a bout of flu, which I thought was odd as I had the flu jab," he said.
"But then I felt deep pains in my left leg which worsened during the night. I could only crawl around the flat and when blisters started to erupt all over my leg, my wife dialled 999."
Paramedics inserted a morphine pump into Dennis's arm as he lay on the hallway floor and he was carried on a stretcher into a waiting ambulance and rushed to the acute care unit at Cheltenham General Hospital.
Initially medical staff feared Dennis has contracted necrotising fascilitis, but it was soon established that he was instead suffering from necrotising cellulitis, a less aggressive but still potentially fatal bug.
Mr Apperly, who now works as a freelance journalist and novelist, is back at home and well on the road to recovery.
He was discharged from hospital after two weeks but NHS nurses are still calling at his home three times a week to dress his wounds.
"Doctors, consultants and nurses worked tirelessly to stabilise the infection and I am not exaggerating to say that these people saved my life," he added.
"I cannot find words to thank them enough."
His wife, Mary Apperly added that it had been an ordeal for the whole family. She said: "It was an absolute nightmare. Blisters were appearing everywhere and despite receiving a maximum dose of morphine my husband was still in agony.
"But the paramedics were brilliant. Although I was out of my mind with worry, I felt reassured my husband was getting the best possible attention."
