Community Corner

Rare Bacterial Infection Strikes Again

The wife of South Gwinnett math teacher Mark Rinehart recently underwent surgery at Northside Hospital. Both hands and feet were amputated.

The Gwinnett Daily Post reported Saturday that Hannah Rinehart, a patient care technician at DeKalb Medical Hillandale in nearby Lithonia, fell victim to a bacterial infection that claimed both her hands and lower legs.  

Rinehart developed aches and pains, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post, but once her fever broke the couple put their worries aside.  

When Hannah, a cancer survivor, went to see her oncologist for an appointment, Mark had to "carry her in."  

Find out what's happening in Stone Mountain-Lithoniawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

She has been comatose for weeks now.  

Mark has set up house in the ICU at Northside and rarely leaves her side. 

Find out what's happening in Stone Mountain-Lithoniawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Just played song we danced to at our wedding for my wife (in ICU for 20 days)," he tweeted on July 20.  "I asked if she knew I was crazy about her.  She nodded yes." 

At 5 p.m. Saturday, Mark posted the following report on Hannah's Facebook page:

"Just recently spoke with orthopedic surgeon (foot doctor). He took the wrappings off of Hannah's legs yesterday, and will look at them tomorrow, but wants to leave them covered today.

"From his perspective, everything concerning the legs looks fine. He did, however, mention that Hannah's fever and elevated white blood cell count was not typical for someone three days after coming out of surgery." 

Flesh-eating viruses and bacteria are extremely rare, so it's shocking to see two people linked to South Gwinnett with similar experiences.   after falling from a zip line and gashing her leg.

Hannah's infection was not caused by the same bacteria.  In fact, hers most likely came from the family dog and is caused by blood poisoning.  While the infection doesn't "eat" flesh, about 30 percent of people who develop it die.

"It is unbelievable that something so rare can hit a community twice in one summer," said Mayor Kelly Kautz in an email to Snellville Patch.  "My thoughts and prayers go out to this family."

This article appeared on Snellville Patch, which will provide further information as it is available.  


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here