Mother of two suffers from flesh eating bacteria threatening her arms and legs

Former Marine suffering from rare bacterial infection

A mother of two and a former Marine contracted a flesh-eating bacteria, but now appears to be in stable condition, according to her husband.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - 34-year-old Cindy Martinez appears to be "doing a little bit better," her husband David revealed to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "Initially it was minute-by-minute and hour-by-hour. And it's day-by-day now and that's good."

Despite her stable condition doctors are unsure as to how the Georgian woman was infected in the first place. There is still a risk that she may lose both her hands and feet, even after dead muscle and tissue was removed during surgery.

Cindy hasn't been able to be home and her husband, who is a police officer, has taken a leave of absence to be with her.

"It's a lot for my wife, for Cindy," he said. "I explained everything to her, she was just in shock.

"She thought she was going to come home in a few days. I had to tell her the truth, and tell her she's not coming home. I don't know when. A couple of weeks, a couple of months. I don't know."

Necrotizing Fescitis, the flesh-eating bacteria that infected Cindy, could have come from an open wound but it is unclear when that contact may have taken place.

"That seems to be the mystery at this point, we don't know," he said. "She didn't have any injury, and initially at home when she was feeling the pain, I looked at where the pain was at, I didn't notice anything. That's what's troubling - I don't know."

The infection started as a pain in Cindy's shoulder which required her to check into the hospital. Just the next day doctors told her that her body was actually shutting down and only emergency surgery could save her life.

This particular strain of bacteria is rare, only affecting an estimated 600-900 Americans every year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states.

Antibiotics and surgery of the effected area is the usual treatment but can be costly. The Martinez family has set up a GoFundMe account in order to help pay for their medical expenses.

Already 900 people have donated and the family has over $45,000, still short of the $500,000 they need.

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