Mother left paralysed after borrowing her friend’s make-up brush

A young mother has revealed how a split-second decision to use her friend’s make-up brush nearly killed her and left her paralysed.

Jo Gilchrist never thought using her friend’s make-up brush would almost kill her, leaving her paralysed.

The young mother from Queensland revealed how that split-second decision ultimately changed her life after a staph infection living on the brush invaded her body through a small opening in her skin.

It left her unable to move from her chest down in 2015.

Appearing wheelchair-bound on Channel 9’s This Time Next Year, in a segment filmed in 2018 and broadcast on Monday, Ms Gilchrist spoke of her gruelling journey.

Jo Gilchrist, appearing on This Time Next Year, was left wheelchair-bound after she used a friend’s make-up brush. Picture: Channel 9

She was forced to care for her son Tommy, who was just three at the time, with the news she’d never walk again.

However she made a promise that within a year she would run and play with her son again.

Ms Gilchrist borrowed the brush from her best friend who had a staph boil, and after about one month, Ms Gilchrist said she began to endure excruciating pain.

“I started getting horrendous back pain,” Ms Gilchrist told host Karl Stefanovic. “Eventually, I ended up being paralysed from my chest down.”

“It ended up being an MRSA staph infection, which is the most dangerous form of staph. It would have gone through a cut or pimple on my face, travelled around my body and implanted in my spinal cord.

The single mother developed a staph infection that invaded her body through a small opening in her skin, leaving her paralysed from the chest down in 2015. Picture: Facebook/ JoThomas

She was told she would never walk again, but the single mother to Tommy (pictured) defied all odds, saying her little boy helped her through. Picture: Facebook/ JoThomas

“By the time I got to the Brisbane hospital, they were basically telling me to say goodbye … It was strangling my spinal cord.”

Ms Gilchrist had to undergo immediate surgery to remove the abscess wrapped around her spinal cord, and even then, doctors said it was unlikely she would survive.

But after a year of painstaking physiotherapy and training in order to regain the mobility in her legs, the young mother defied all odds, saying she is “really lucky”.

Doctors told her she would never walk again, but she refused to accept it.

Appearing on the show a year later, Ms Gilchrist miraculously walked through the doors with her son by her side. Picture: Channel 9

“I told them no, this isn’t how my story ends … You watch me, I’ll come out here and I’ll be running next year,” she told Stefanovic.

Appearing on the show a year later, Ms Gilchrist miraculously walked through the doors with her son by her side.

“I don’t think I would be here if it wasn’t for my little boy,” Ms Gilchrist said.

“He’s the fight that gets me through every day.”

She was able to walk again after one year of intense physiotherapy. Picture: Facebook/ JoThomas

WHAT IS A STAPH INFECTION:

Staphylococcal, or “staph”, is an infection caused by bacteria commonly found on the skin or in the nose.

It is usually harmless but sometimes can cause skin infections, abscesses, pneumonia, osteomyelitis and bacteraemia. Common symptoms include boils and oozing blisters.

According to the Mayo Clinic, treatment often includes drainage of the infection and antibiotics.

PEOPLE MAY EXPERIENCE:

Pain areas: in the abdomen or skin

Skin: blisters, boils, sores, rashes or redness

Gastrointestinal: diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting

Whole body: chills or fever

Also common: abscesses, pus or swelling

HOW TO PREVENT STAPH INFECTIONS:

Wash hands with soap and warm water frequently

Keep skin clean

Don’t share towels, razors, bed linen or toothbrushes

Keep cuts clean and covered