Woman Who Beat Cancer Twice Loses Hands, Feet From Rare Infection

By ANTHONY BARTKEWICZ / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Hannah Rinehart

July 31, 2012 Updated Jul 31, 2012 at 11:24 AM PDT

A Georgia woman’s struggle with a rare bacterial infection has her loved ones saying enough is enough.

Before Hannah Rinehart, 32, contracted the capnocytophaga infection, which forced doctors to amputate her hands and feet, she beat cancer twice.

"I think that is the first question I asked God. 'Why, why?'" friend Kerrie Touchstone said, but added, "She's a fighter."

Doctors said amputation was a last resort, but the only option after the capnocytophaga started going after her fingers and toes. Before that, it attacked her kidneys and lungs, dropping her blood pressure to dangerously low levels.

"To not do anything right now would not be an act of faith, but an act of negligence," said her husband Mark Rinehart.

Capnocytophaga is most often found in dog saliva, but rarely makes humans sick.

Hannah, who is a nurse, is recovering from the amputations at Northside Hospital. Her friend said they won’t matter to the people who love her. "People want to draw close to her, and I know that will not be touched by the loss of her limbs," Touchstone said.

To read the rest of this New York Daily News story, CLICK HERE.

To submit a comment on this article, your email address is required. We respect your privacy and your email will not be visible to others nor will it be added to any email lists.