Every day, even seemingly simple tasks are challenging for 25-year-old Jordan Griffin.
"I lost my short term memory for quite some time and had to be reminded every single day that my legs were gone," she said.
In September 2011, both Griffin and her doctor thought she had a sinus infection. The medicine didn't work. In fact, within a day of that first doctor's appointment, Griffin ended up in the hospital. She was in and out of consciousness and so sick that within months, doctors amputated her legs.
"I could be doing all kinds of things right now but instead I'm re-learning how to walk, something that an infant does," she explained.
So what exactly happened to Griffin? Doctors at Baptist Health in Little Rock said she had an infection so rare it afflicts fewer than one out of every 1,000,000 people.
"I told, you know her mom Leslie, I went out and I said I think i'm losing her," explained Dr. Hanan Makhoul. "I'm sorry but I don't think I'm going to be able to help her."
Makhoul says Griffin basically had a sore throat that spread throughout her entire body. It caused septic shock and then massive organ failure, shutting-down her kidneys, lungs, and liver.
"This degree of failure of all her organs," said Makhoul, "usually the outcome, 99% of the time, death is the outcome."
That puts Griffin in a medically-remarkable minority.
"I go out with friends and family and have fun," said Griffin. "I'm doing ok."
She's doing better than ok. Griffin is re-learning how to walk with starter prosthetics. Also, she plans to go to college and eventually wants to own her own restaurant and bar. In other words, she's doing exactly what she wanted to do before her one-in-a-million illness ... and suggests you do the same.
"Do what you like to do," she said, "because you might not be able to do it again tomorrow."
Griffin's medical bills are, as can be expected, very expensive. Making matters worse, she has no health insurance. As a result, family friends set up a
website so that people can donate money to Griffin if they'd like.
