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Just a few weeks after starting anti-depressants that her doctor prescribed, a woman was left fighting for her life.
36-year-old Mpho Boadia was devastated when her friend suddenly died in 2010, an event that catapulted the busy mom into a three-year depression.
But when her doctor suggested she try anti-depressants in 2013, Boadia was willing to do whatever it took to start feeling like herself again.
Then, barely a few weeks after starting the medication, Boadia suddenly developed a severe rash all over her face.
Not realizing the connection to the anti-depressants, Boadia’s doctor initially diagnosed her with chicken pox.
As the rash began to worsen, Boadia ultimately had to be rushed to the Intensive Care Unit at Klerksdorp Hospital, because her skin was blistering all over her body.
While staying in the ICU, Boadia’s body was scrubbed completely raw after being put under general anesthesia.
“As it progressed, it was like I had been burnt with an iron. Blisters were spreading over me, so my skin was rubbed off,” she recalled, according to The Daily Mail. “It was gruesome and painful. It was emotionally and physically difficult. My head was rotting. I was blistering from the inside out.”
Once Boadia was stabilized, doctors finally diagnosed her with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a potentially fatal “over-reaction” of the immune system typically caused by the introduction of a mild medication.
In Boadia’s case, the deadly reaction had been caused by the anti-depressants her doctor prescribed, and she was forced to spend the next month in the hospital.
While Boadia has since recovered from the shocking experience, she hopes her story can warn others to seek medical attention when they feel like something just isn’t right.
“I feel so much better now. I will never have that caramel-coloured body again but I have something better – my life,” Boadia said. “Emotionally, I am fine. I've battled and won. I'm confident and happy.”
“No-one could have predicted what could have happened to me,” she added. “But in some ways I am glad it did. It's made me a better person.”
