A MUM who lost half her face to a flesh-eating bug can finally smile again after life-changing operations to transform her face.

Donna Corden, from Leeds, endured months of surgery after a minor fall in her kitchen nearly claimed her life.

Now, after months of facial reconstruction using tissue from her thigh and more than a years wait for the swelling to go down, Donna has been able to smile.

But she has had as much treatment as she can on the NHS, so is looking into private cosmetic surgery to re-build the rest of her face.

“The flesh and skin they transplanted from the top of my thigh to my face is a different tissue, it’s not anatomically supposed to be on the face, so it’s a different colour and it droops down, it doesn’t hold in place,” she told The Mirror.

“A surgeon in London said he can do metal work around my eyeball and cheekbone, like scaffolding, to build my face again and I can get the skin graft on my face tattooed the same colour as my facial skin but it’s all very expensive.

“It’s been a tough few years but my family have been brilliant. There’s no point in crying. I’m very lucky to be alive.”

Donna, from Leeds, slipped in the kitchen and banged her head on the cooker in January 2017, leaving a gash on her eyebrow.

The now 47-year-old then developed a deadly infection called necrotising fasciitis and ended up in a coma for four days fighting for her life.

A week after she came round, doctors took skin and muscle from Donna’s leg to repair the damage to her face.

She needed further surgery to re-build her face once the swelling had subsided.

Donna said: “I still can’t believe a small cut above my left eyebrow triggered something so horrific.

“After I’d fallen my doctor put a few butterfly stitches across it. He was sure I’d be fine but sent me to the hospital for an x-ray to be on the safe side.

“The results were all clear so I went home to rest.”

The next day Donna began to feel dizzy and sick and her face started to swell up.

Daughter Jayde, 26, phoned for an ambulance and Donna was taken to Leeds General Infirmary for a CT scan.

Donna said: “I was still convinced I was fine and had a tummy bug, but as the hours passed I’d never felt so ill.

“The doctors told me I had a very dangerous infection, but by this time I was drifting in and out of consciousness.

“The next thing I remember is coming round a week later in intensive care.”

Necrotising fasciitis can be caused by various types of bacteria, some of which can live on the skin without causing any problem.

In rare cases, the condition is triggered when bacteria seeps into the blood stream.

The infection had quickly spread through Donna’s body, causing her kidneys and heart to shut down.

She’d also developed sepsis, a serious complication of the infection which causes multiple organ failure.

Necrotising fasciitis is a medical emergency that can spread very quickly. If you suspect you are suffering with it, it is important you dial 999 immediately.
Donna said: “I was far from out of the woods because the infection had eaten half my face.

“Underneath the bandages there was raw tissue and muscle.

“When I woke up I asked for a mirror and when I saw my reflection I broke down.

“I looked like a monster with a rugby ball stitched to the side of my face. I was in absolute bits.

“The skin around my left eye was black, and I had no sight on that side.

“I just wanted to hide myself away because I looked so awful.”

Four months later Donna still needed more reconstructive surgery and was told it would be at least a year before her face starts to look normal again.

She admitted at the time: “I’m still struggling to get my head around everything that’s happened.

“I’m only just building up the confidence to go out again.

“Doctors managed to save my eye but it’s going to be a while before I get my sight back completely.

“I’ll never look the same again, but I’m lucky to be alive, that’s what matters more than anything.”