text: A father-of-two who brushed his ankle against a bin bag, scraping the skin, developed a flesh-eating bug and nearly lost his leg. Douglas Murphy was cleaning up after a children's picnic when he bumped his leg against a bin bag. Though the 47-year-old barely registered it at the time, the scrape almost cost him his right leg. A cut so small it was hardly visible, became infected, causing the rare condition necrotizing faciitis - a flesh-eating bug. So extreme was Mr Murphy's infection, surgeons were preparing to amputate his right leg. But as they were printing out the paperwork to authorise the procedure, the antibiotics Mr Murphy had been given finally began to show signs of working. Douglas Murphy, 47, from Brooklyn, New York, pictured with his daughters Livvy Grace and Eleanor, nearly lost his right leg after scraping it against a bin bag while clearing up after a party . 'I attended a picnic for my daughter's kindergarten class,' said Mr Murphy of Brooklyn, New York. 'The kids played and it was a wonderful day. After the party ended, I helped in the clean up. 'I filled a bag with trash and, as it neared filling, spun the bag so I could tie it off. 'The bag's bottom corner brushed – and we're talking barely touched – my ankle and left a little teensie bit of juice on my sock. 'There was no abrasion or anything visible.' That evening, Mr Murphy, who owns a summer camp company, was at home watching a movie with his daughters Livvy Grace, now 13 and Eleanor, now 11, when he began to feel feverish. 'My leg, foot and ankle began to swell and a nasty dark purple began to spread and grow. My temperature was rising, I started feeling awful,' he said. 'I thought it was a spider bite. I made my kids look but they didn't see anything.' By the following evening, his temperature had rocketed to 42°C and he could put weight on his ankle. He rushed to New York Methodist Hospital and collapsed at the intake desk. Mr Murphy was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis and medics battled to save him from the grips of infection. 'For the next few days, I was incoherent, feverish – completely out of it,' he said. 'The infection spread and my temperature did not go down. I was in deep, deep trouble. A cut so small it was barely visible became infected, triggering the flesh-eating infection, necrotizing faciitis . Surgeons were preparing to amputate his right leg, when they noticed antibiotics given to the father-of-two had begun to work. As a result his leg was saved . 'They didn't tell me how bad it was but apparently told my mum, who flew in and stayed at my bedside, to get my paperwork in order as they might not save me.' As the infection took hold, Mr Murphy began to suffer 'crazy fever dreams', telling his mother he was due to fly via private plane to Tokyo to attend a party hosted by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Despite being hooked up to several IV drips and plied with different combinations of antibiotics, Mr Murphy's fever refused to slow. When red infection lines began to shoot over his knee, surgeons decided to prep him for amputation. It was not until they were printing out the paperwork to authorise the operation that the medicine finally began to work. Eventually, the infection was beaten and Mr Murphy was moved to a regular hospital room to recover. 'At first they put me in a shared room and it was really only then that I began to get coherent. 'There was a guy in the bed nearby and his wife sitting at the foot of the bed,' Mr Murphy said. 'They were both staring at me. I looked down at my massive, swollen, disgusting leg with flesh literally falling away, hair a mess, soaked in sweat – not the person you want to be wheeled into your room. 'Once I moved into a single room and washed up, I began to feel more human. 'My sister stayed in my room day and night and, while wearing gloves, peeled away layer after layer of dead, disgusting tissue.' Mr Murphy said he is grateful to be alive. His foot has now completely healed but still hurts a lot of the time . Mr Murphy was discharged and given crutches, which he found difficult to navigate. On his first day back home, he slipped, broke his hip and was sent back to hospital for a string of orthopaedic surgeries which ended in a total hip replacement. His lymph system was severely damaged following the infection and his foot is now covered in scar tissue. He is keen to raise awareness of his ordeal, working tirelessly with the National Necrotizing Faciitis Foundation. 'When I look at the pictures I have a hard time believing that it's me and I survived,' he said. 'The doctors think that a teensie abrasion from the trash bag and the presence of the bacteria on the bag was enough to let in the infection. The bacteria is present all over the world. 'My foot has healed completely mottled and hurts much of the time but I get used to it. 'It's good to be alive.' Necrotizing faciitis is often triggered by group A streptococci bacteria, pictured . Necrotizing faciitis is a rare but life-threatening infection affecting the deep layers of the skin. It progresses quickly after being triggered by various types of bacteria, including group A streptococcus and staphylococcus. Many infections are caused by organisms already residing on a person's skin. Group A streptococci is a bacteria commonly found in the throat and on the skin. The vast majority of infections are relatively mild illnesses, such as strep throat and impetigo. Occasionally, however, the bacteria can become life-threatening if entering parts of the body where not usually found such as the blood, muscles or the lungs. The bacteria is often spread through direct contact with the mucus of an infected person and through contact with infected skin wounds and sores. Invasive group A streptococcal disease, which may occur when the bacteria gets past the body’s defences, is a severe and sometimes life-threatening infection in which the bacteria has invaded parts of the body, such as the blood, deep muscle and fat tissue or the lungs. Two of the most severe forms of invasive group A streptococcal disease are  necrotising fasciitis and Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (a rapidly progressing infection causing injury to the major organs). The early signs and symptoms of necrotising fasciitis include fever, severe pain and swelling, and redness at the wound site. The early symptoms of Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome may include fever, dizziness, confusion, low blood pressure, rash and abdominal pain.
target: Douglas Murphy scraped his leg on a bin bag while clearing up after party .
  47-year-old father-of-two suffered a cut so small it was barely visible .
  It became infected, triggering the rare condition necrotizing faciitis .
  Surgeons were preparing to amputate when antibiotics began to work .