A 26-year old woman from Georgia courageously shared how her whole life turned upside down due to an alleged medical error that almost took her life.
Khaliah Monique Shaw, a graduate of Georgia College & State University, detailed her suffering after being given a higher dosage of the prescription medication Lamictal. Just a few days after her doctor up her dosage, Khaliah felt ill and developed blisters inside her mouth.
Days later, the blisters spread inside her eyes, mouth, inside of her palms, and on the bottom of her feet. Khaliah was rushed to the emergency room of Oconee Medical Center in Milledgeville. The doctors have no idea what was happening to Khaliah and decided to isolate her just in case she was carrying an infectious disease.
"I was in excruciating pain. It felt like I was on fire," Khalifah said in a report from 11Alive. "It essentially causes your body to burn from the inside out and you pretty much just melt."
Khaliah was transferred to the Medical Center of Central Georgia (MCCG) in Macon, where she was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a rare and serious skin disorder that usually occurs as a result of a reaction to a medication or incorrect dosage.
After being transferred once again to Grady Hospital's Burn Center in Atlanta, Khaliah's condition continues to worsen. Because more than 30 percent of her body was affected by SJS, the doctors upgraded her diagnosis to Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. Khaliah was put into a coma for five weeks. She lost 85 to 90 percent of her skin. She also lost her hair and fingernails. The damage done by the SJS/TEN was most apparent on her face, neck, back and chest.
At present, Khaliah is slowly losing her vision. Her sweat glands and fingernails will never grow back again. Additionally, Khaliah now continues to live with a high chance of having a relapse that could be worse than what she experienced before.