A mum has been lucky to escape with her life and limbs after a gnat bite she suffered 13 years ago left her in a critical condition.
Jorja Austin was tending to her garden in 2009 when she was bitten.
At the time, the bite was merely an irritating insect bite, which she had no clue would pose a serious risk to her life more than a decade down the line.
But the four 'pinhole-sized' bites never healed, which Jorja suspects was due to an iron deficiency, developing into the rare condition pyoderma gangrenosum, which causes nasty ulcers.
The gruesome sores later brought on sepsis - a life-threatening infection of the blood.
The 40-year-old from Essex was hospitalised in May this year after her health took a turn for the worse, resulting in her losing her of two sons.
She was then delivered the terrible news that both her legs may need to be amputated in order to save her life.
Miraculously, the terrified mum has since made a full recovery, and has now been able to enjoy Christmas for the first time in 13 years since the wounds healed.
"I've had no life and been in agony for 13 years," said stay-at-home mum, Jorja.
"I lost both my little boys due to my bad health. It got out of control.
"You wouldn't believe that my legs were finally getting better.
"I'm so happy and over the moon after being so frustrated for so long."
The rare skin condition was diagnosed two years later and then migrated to her other leg, stopping her from working for over a decade.
Jorja has also paid tribute to the dedicated work of the community nurses who treated her ulcers every three days for months, crediting them with her full recovery.
"I was put into a coma in May after not being able to breathe from the sepsis," she said.
"My family were told to say their goodbyes.
"Since I came out of hospital I've learnt to walk again and now one of the ulcers is 50 per cent healed."
She's used her experience to warn anyone with nasty wounds to seek urgent medical attention, as untreated wounds can result in critical problems later on.
"I didn't get the right help at the right time," she said.
"You have to keep going back, again and again, to fight for the right treatment, or you'll end up nearly dead like me. Don't leave it to get as bad as I did."
Jorja has since enrolled in a flower arranging course in January and plans to spend a quiet Christmas with her sister, Paige, and is now hoping she will be able to have her boys, aged 13 and 17, back home soon.
