A new mum almost died after giving birth when she developed a flesh-eating bug - in her c-section incision.

Amber DeWitt, 31, fell into a coma and battled necrotizing fasciitis after the arrival of her son, Weston, one, in September 2023.

The aggressive condition eats away at healthy tissue and can prove fatal and left Amber needing a "softball-sized" chunk of her stomach removed."

The mum-of-one had been rushed for an emergency c-section after her baby became stuck in the breach position.

Amber went home the following day, but her incision became increasingly painful, and she developed a temperature.

She visited the local hospital - where medics suggested she had a mild bacterial infection - and she was sent home with antibiotics.

But when the pain became unbearable, Amber return to Baylor Scott and White Hospital, Dallas, where doctors discovered the terrifying truth.

She underwent emergency surgery to remove the dying tissue - and was left with an 8cm deep and 7cm open wound.

Doctors warned her husband, Andrew, 32, a contractor, that she was "unlikely to survive" but she defied the odds, waking up three days later. "

After five surgeries, Amber returned home two weeks later and was on the road to recovery.

She is finally healed and wants to warn other people to "listen" to their bodies if something doesn't seem right."

Amber, a business manager, from Dallas, Texas, US, said: "Doctors didn't think I'd make it through the night. "

"I had a newborn baby and my husband was saying his goodbyes."

"They had to cut away pounds of skin – it was the same amount as a softball."

"I'm so grateful to be here, and to be able to watch my son grow-up."

Amber was excited to welcome her first child with Andrew in September 2023.

She had a "healthy, normal pregnancy" and had planned to have water birth."

But when her son became stuck upside down in breach position, doctors had no choice but to perform an emergency c-section.

Their little boy, Weston, arrived at September 30, 2023, at 9.25am weighing 6lbs 11oz.

They were discharged after two days, but later that week Amber grew concerned when her c-section incision continued hurting.

When the pain didn't settle down, Amber went to a local clinic to get it examined.

Doctors suspected a "moisture bacterial infection" and she was prescribed antibiotics."

She said: "They suggested I put a sanitary towel over the wound to help with the moisture."

"In hindsight, I feel like that might have made bacteria breed more."

Amber developed a "dangerously" high temperate and was unable to walk due to the pain."

Andrew rushed Amber to Baylor Scott and White Hospital, Dallas, where an MRI scan revealed she had "concerning tissue" around the incision."



Doctors rushed her in for emergency exploratory surgery - where they discovered she had developed sepsis and necrotizing fasciitis.

They suspected the infection had developed in the wound of her c-section incision.

Amber was put in an induced coma for three days, and had two more operations while asleep.

She said: "I couldn't go to the toilet, so they knew my organs were shutting down."

"My surgeon warned me it was a huge operation and that's when I realised how serious it was."

"There was so much tissue dying and turning black, they had to keep cutting away. "

"They had to stop it spreading before it hit my vital organs. "

"I don't remember anything during this time."

"During the second operation, doctors told my family I wasn't going to survive."

Despite all the odds, Amber responded well when doctors woke her up.

She underwent two more surgeries - both while awake - to cut away more tissue.

She spent six days in intensive care and another eight days on a ward before she was finally discharged.

Amber had a nurse visit her several times a week for the next six months to continue changing her dressings.

Amber said: "It was a very difficult time, I was a new mum and couldn't even hold my baby."

"They cut so much skin away, that it created a second wound because the skin was too tight to heal."

"I was lucky to have such amazing support around me."

Amber has since fully recovered but been left with a large scar down her abdomen after the traumatic incident.

She said: "I didn't have health insurance, and the cost of treatment put me off seeking medical help sooner."

"I kept thinking it would get better and it didn't."

"I ended up getting medicaid - which covered the hospital bills and backdated to the c-section."

"I worked out I racked up nearly a million dollars worth of treatment. "

"Your health is not worth worrying about getting a hospital bill - it nearly cost my life."

"I nearly died and would never have been here for my son."

"In that sense, I'm lucky to be here."