Mom Thought She Had a Boil. Then She Vomited 'Black Tar', Ended Up in a Coma from Flesh-Eating Disease

Cara Lynn ShultzThu, June 18, 2026 at 5:42 PM UTC

11

Caroline Fonjock is sharing her story to help raise awareness about the signs of necrotizing fasciitisCredit: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust -

Caroline Fonjock underwent emergency surgery after a boil on her leg turned out to be necrotizing fasciitis

The rare flesh-eating disease can kill soft tissue quickly and is fatal in about 1 in 5 cases

Fonjock hopes sharing her story will help others recognize the deadly condition earlier

A mom was left vomiting "black tar" and needing emergency surgery after a boil on her leg turned out to be an aggressive case of necrotizing fasciitis — commonly called the flesh-eating disease.

Social worker Caroline Fonjock, 45, first noticed a lesion at the top of her inner thigh in April 2021, but dismissed it as a boil, nothing more, according to a report from Cambridge University Hospitals. But within 36 hours, the mom of two was vomiting "black tar," she told BBC, as the boil turned into a "hardened tube" and spread down her leg.

Fonjock was rushed to the hospital, where she says she was told she needed emergency surgery, multiple skin grafts, and could end up spending a year in the hospital, due to the aggressive case of necrotizing fasciitis.

Caroline Fonjack with her husband, Lionel (right) and two daughtersCredit: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The mom from the English town of Haverhill said doctors told her, "If you don't do this, you'll be dead by morning."

Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare bacterial infection that can be deadly in about 1 in 5 patients, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. It's dubbed the "flesh-eating disease" because it quickly kills the body's soft tissue found around muscles, nerves, fat, and blood vessels, and it can turn lethal in a short period of time. Immediate medical attention and often surgery to remove the affected tissue is crucial for survival.

Her husband, Lionel, told the BBC that he had never heard of the disease — and now had to tell their daughters that "it's a possibility mum might not come back home."

During the surgery, doctors removed a large portion of Fonjock's leg. The damage, she told the outlet, looked "like roadkill," and she spent two weeks in a medically induced coma in the ICU.

Advertisement

The road to recovery wasn't easy: She struggled with infections, organ failure, and couldn't speak, due to a collapsed trachea. Fonjock also lost her fine motor skills, and struggled to communicate on a dry-erase board her friend brought to the hospital.

Caroline Fonjack with her daughtersCredit: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Take PEOPLE with you! Subscribe to PEOPLE magazine to get the latest details on celebrity news, exclusive royal updates, how-it-happened true crime stories and more — right to your mailbox.

"I was so desperately in distress. I couldn't write," she says. "It was a really terrifying moment."

Fonjack's case is included in a report, published in Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, on factors that influence outcomes in cases of necrotizing fasciitis, as Fonjock has a history of infections and diabetes. Still, she says she doesn't know how she may have been infected with the bacteria.

Now, five years after her life-threatening health crisis, Fonjock has since re-learned how to walk and talk, says she feels "blessed" to have been saved "in the middle of the night" by emergency surgery.

"The scar, while not pretty, is better than losing a limb, or worse," she says, adding that she hopes her story can help others identify the rare, but very deadly, illness. "I am certainly not one to seek the limelight about my health issues, but I am very happy to share my story alongside this research if it helps doctors – and perhaps patients - recognize this condition at an earlier stage."

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Breaking”