Group A Strep Thought to Be Most Common Cause 
 
 Although media reports often call it “flesh-eating bacteria,” more than one type of bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis. Public health experts believe group A Streptococcus (group A strep) are the most common cause of necrotizing fasciitis. This web page only focuses on necrotizing fasciitis caused by group A strep bacteria. 
 
 Breaks in the Skin Can Allow Bacteria to Enter 
 
 The bacteria most commonly enter the body through a break in the skin, including: 
 
 Cuts and scrapes 
 
 Burns 
 
 Insect bites 
 
 Puncture wounds (including those due to intravenous or IV drug use) 
 
 Surgical wounds 
 
 However, people can also get necrotizing fasciitis after an injury that does not break the skin (blunt trauma). 

 HALIFAX — Lindsey Hubley was diagnosed with flesh-eating disease four days after giving birth and is now a quadruple amputee, has undergone a total hysterectomy and has been forced to spend the first seven months of her son's life in hospital. 
 
 Now, she's taking legal action against the IWK Health Centre and several Halifax-area doctors for alleged wrongdoings in her care during the birth and her postoperative care. 
 
 Lawyer Ray Wagner said a statement of claim filed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court Wednesday alleges that the negligence of five doctors and the hospital caused or contributed to the health issues suffered by Hubley. 
 
 "She was very lucky to have survived," said Wagner in an interview on Wednesday. 
 
 Hubley, 33, gave birth to her son Myles on March 2 but was rushed to the hospital a day after being discharged and was later diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, otherwise known as flesh-eating disease. 
 
 Wagner said it's alleged part of the placenta was not removed at birth, and that she had a tear on her vagina that required sutures, which could have contributed to her health issues. 
 
 He said it's also alleged that when Hubley arrived back at the hospital on March 5 with abdominal pain — the day after being discharged following the birth — an examination was not performed. Hubley was diagnosed with constipation and sent home. 
 
 "Our allegations are that had she been properly assessed when she presented at the hospital ... a substantial part of the damage, if not all of it, could have been prevented," said Wagner. 
 
 The next day, she was rushed to the hospital after experiencing more pain and discolouration on her body. 
 
 She was later diagnosed with flesh-eating disease, and has since undergone multiple surgeries, including amputations below both of her elbows and knees and a total hysterectomy. 
 
 The allegations have not been proven in court, and the IWK did not comment on the claims Wednesday. 
 
 Hubley's fiancee, Mike Sampson, 34, who is also named as a plaintiff in the case, has not been able to work since the birth of Myles. He said "life has been put on hold." 
 
 "Myles and I make our way into the hospital pretty much every day to see mama," said Sampson in an interview Wednesday. "Our lives have been turned upside down." 
 
 But despite the horrific ordeal, Sampson said his fiancee has remained very positive. 
 
 "No mom should ever have to watch their fiancee and their son walk out the door every night for over 200 days," he said. 
 
 "She's incredibly positive ... She has an outlook that this process has taken her arms and her legs, but it's not going to take her happiness." 
 
 Sampson said Hubley is no longer infected but does require more major surgeries — including a kidney transplant — however they are hopeful she'll soon be able to start attending rehab. 
 
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 Lindsey Hubley and her fiance Mike Sampson with their son Myles. (CTV) 
 
 The hospital delivery seemed problem-free. Baby Myles arrived on March 2, the first child born to Lindsey Hubley and Mike Sampson. The engaged couple from Halifax, Nova Scotia, brought their child home a few days later. 
 
 But Hubley did not have long with her newborn. The next day, she was back in the hospital, this time under the knife in an emergency surgery that would end with doctors placing the new mom in a medically induced coma. 
 
 Physicians eventually determined Hubley was suffering from necrotizing fasciitis, a dangerous flesh-eating disease. To beat back the infection, drastic measures were necessary — both the 33-year-old’s arms and legs were amputated, and doctors performed a total hysterectomy. 
 
 
 
 Lindsey Hubley and her fiance Mike Sampson with their son Myles. (CTV) 
 
 Seven months later, Hubley is still primarily confined to a hospital bed, fighting for small victories such as briefly leaving the medical center for the first time in a wheelchair. Although her son and fiance have been in her room every day, they’re far from the same family that left the hospital together after the birth. 
 
 “Having her watch the two of us leave and her sitting there for the rest of the night by herself in the hospital is absolutely tortuous,” Sampson told CTV News this week. “If it was just feet, it would be one thing. If it was just arms, it would be another thing. But there’s about nine different things we’re dealing with.” 
 
 And it all could have been prevented, Hubley and her family say. This week, the couple filed a negligence lawsuit in Nova Scotia Supreme Court against the hospital where she gave birth, IWK Health Center, and five doctors, the Canadian Press reported. 
 
 “Our allegations are that had she been properly assessed when she presented at the hospital . . . a substantial part of the damage, if not all of it, could have been prevented,” Ray Wagner, Hubley’s attorney, told the Press. 
 
 After the birth, Hubley was discharged from IWK Health Centre on March 4, according to a news release from Wagner. In the early hours of March 5, however, Hubley began feeling a “sharp, distinct, abdominal pain.” At 9 a.m., the couple and their newborn returned to IWK for the discomfort. The doctors said she was suffering from constipation. The family went back home. 
 
 The next day, Hubley was rushed in an ambulance to Queen Elizabeth II Emergency after the pain increased. She was immediately taken into the operating room. “They went into surgery, and Mike was advised that this was very serious,” Susan Hubley, Lindsey’s sister-in-law, told CBC News. “That was a very scary time for us. We were very unsure of how she was going to do.” 
 
 Hubley was suffering from secondary septic shock and experiencing multi-system organ failure. Doctors eventually determined she had a group A streptococcal infection, which possibly triggered the necrotizing fasciitis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the condition is rare, but occurs when bacteria enters the body through an open wound. The infection also is fast-acting. 
 
 Hubley was placed in a medically induced coma while doctors worked to repair her damaged tissue. But the condition meant Hubley would lose her hands and her legs below the knee. 
 
 When she woke from the coma, Hubley had trouble speaking at first. “Cognitively, she’s incredible — she’s 1,000 percent,” Susan Hubley told the National Post. “She has said she just wants this to be done so she can go home and be a mom. She’s being as strong as she can.” 
 
 In March, a spokeswoman for the Nova Scotia Health Authority confirmed to the Toronto Star that the province had seen a separate recent case of group A streptococcal, with seven cases total documented in 2017. 
 
 Hubley’s attorney Wagner told the Canadian Press that while at IWK Health Centre, part of Hubley’s placenta was not removed after the birth, and there was a tear in her vagina that was not treated with sutures — both could have contributed to the infection and health issues. 
 
 The hospital has not yet publicly addressed the lawsuit. An email for comment was not immediately returned Thursday night. 
 
 Since the birth, Sampson hasn’t been able to work, instead focusing his energy on caring for the newborn. Although Hubley is now a quadruple amputee, she is infection-free. But needed surgeries still lie ahead — including a kidney transplant. 
 
 “She’s much better than she’s been,” Sampson told CTV News. “She’s actually on a road to recovery where rehab is in the near future for the first time.” 
 
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– When Lindsey Hubley visited a hospital complaining of a "sharp, distinct, abdominal pain" a few days after giving birth, she says doctors blamed constipation without examining her. The 33-year-old Canadian woman then headed home, only to return to IWK Health Center in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the next day, per the Canadian Press. This time, doctors did not blame constipation. Hubley, who went immediately into surgery, was experiencing secondary septic shock and multi-system organ failure, reports the Washington Post. Seven months later, she remains hospitalized following a hysterectomy and amputations of all four limbs—an outcome Hubley attributes to doctor negligence in a lawsuit filed Wednesday. The new mom was eventually diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease. "Our allegations are that had she been properly assessed when she presented at the hospital ... a substantial part of the damage, if not all of it, could have been prevented," says her attorney. He adds that his client suffered a vaginal tear during the birth and that part of the placenta was not removed, both of which could have contributed to the infection. According to the CDC, flesh-eating disease most often occurs when bacteria enters the body through a break in the skin. "No mom should ever have to watch their fiance and their son walk out the door every night for over 200 days,'' adds Hubley’s partner, Mike Sampson, 34, referring to Hubley's long hospital stay. "Our lives have been turned upside down.'' IWK has not responded. (Something similar happened to this mother.)