Strep A: Dudley girl has lifesaving op after ‘flesh-eating infection’

Reign Passey from Dudley spent three weeks in hospital and had to undergo a lifesaving four-hour operation to remove the flesh-eating bacteria.

She has been left with a large scar on her right side - which she tells people she imaginatively got from "winning a fight against a crocodile".

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Reign came down with chickenpox on July 4 and initially appeared fine, Leanne, Reign’s mother says.

But three days later Leanne noticed her daughter had a temperature and appeared to be low on energy - symptoms of strep A.

She also spotted a red ring around one of the sores – and decided to take her daughter to a doctor, where she was recommended, they visit A&E immediately.

Leanne Passey and her daughter Reign. (Image: SWNS.)

However, when Leanne arrived at Russells Hall Hospital, she claims she was told to take some antibiotics and return home - due to the fact Reign was highly contagious.

But the mum, who works as an aesthetic practitioner, refused to leave.

Leanne, aged 31, was eventually told that there were no beds available, and they would not be able to treat her daughter, she claims.

She then decided to take Reign to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where they presented at A&E at 9.30pm.

However, due to the contagious nature of chickenpox, they were told to wait outside.

They were given a chair and left for another six hours until 3.30am, Leanne claims.

Reign was then finally seen by a doctor at 8.30am.

The mum said: “She'd gone past the point of screaming and was lying there almost lifeless.

“I picked her up and carried her through the doors and said someone needs to see my daughter, I feel like she’s dying.

Reign spent three weeks recovering in hospital. (Image: SWNS.)

“[The doctors] thought she might have necrotising fasciitis as there was a black mark around the red ring.

“I’d gone from a child with chickenpox to her needing to go in for major op - I was screaming and I thought there’s a chance she was going to die.”

Following the agonising wait, the surgeon came to update them on the surgery.

They said they’d had to make a large cut into her side to cut away the necrotising fasciitis.

Reign was taken to intensive care, put in an induced coma to manage the pain and given breathing support.

After 48 hours Reign developed septicaemia and Leanne didn’t know ‘whether she was going to die’.

Doctors then started Reign on "ridiculous amounts of antibiotics" and had a skin graft on her side spending three weeks in hospital recovering.

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A spokesperson for Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said steps are taken to move children with an infectious condition to a cubicle or side room but in high demand, a place away from the waiting room is identified.

“It was an exceptionally busy summer period, all children were triaged by a member of our team very shortly after arrival and would be seen on a number of occasions by clinical professionals in the time before a cubicle became available,” said the spokesperson.

The trust says chicken pox usually last five to seven days and in some cases, the skin can get infected, and in very rare cases the infection can cause Necrotising Fasciitis, which can be caused by Streptococcal A.