Opinion: Antibiotic resistance nearly killed me. That’s why I’m raising awareness of it
There are many reasons why people write about the looming threat of antibiotic resistance. Academics do it to share their research. Politicians and public health experts do it to show what’s working and what isn’t. I do it because getting an infection that nearly took my life is not something I want to see happen to anyone else.
In 2011, I was a 19-year-old volunteer working with HIV/AIDS orphans in Kolkata, India. One morning on my way to the orphanage, I was hit and dragged by a train, which severely damaged my right leg. Due to the damage, doctors at a nearby clinic had to amputate the leg above the knee, without anesthetic to numb the pain.
