After beating illness, she's back in the race
I spent last weekend reading about fictional characters who display courage, loyalty, and persistence against long odds: Harry Potter and his friends. Now, it's back to reality: Real people among us doing extraordinary things. Kim Brown is one of them. She'd never acknowledge that she's special, but you decide.
In 2003, at age 38, Brown -- who works at the YMCA in Foxborough -- entered a triathlon. It was one of those "sprint" versions that are so popular -- a half-mile swim, 12-mile bike ride, and 5-kilometer race. It was a big deal for her. With two children, she'd neglected her exercise and wasn't even up to running a mile. But, with friends' encouragement, she began training and completed the Danskin Triathlon in Webster. She loved the experience and began training immediately for the next year. Again, another great experience, but "I broke no records," she says.
While still basking in the glow of her accomplishment, Brown experienced some pain in her lower abdomen. It turned out she had fibroid tumors in her uterus -- benign, but exacerbated by heavy exercise. Doctors recommended a hysterectomy and she agreed. Surgery was scheduled for February 2005, plenty of time to recover and train for the summer triathlon.
The surgery was uneventful, but a few days later the surgical site in her abdomen became sore and infected. Brown landed in the emergency room, where she had two more procedures and two blood transfusions. Still, doctors could not get a handle on the infection and she was transferred to Boston Medical Center, where she spent a week having three more procedures in an attempt to curb the infection.
At this point, doctors decided to leave Brown under general anesthesia and had her transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was finally diagnosed. What had started out as a strep infection had turned into necrotizing fasciitis, more commonly known as flesh-eating disorder, which often results in death or disfigurement.
Brown was left under for 10 days while doctors worked on her. Surgery removed some of the dead and damaged tissue, and there were more transfusions and trips to the hyperbaric chamber. At one point, while she was unconscious, her husband, Gary, had to approve experimental procedures that could have left her partially paralyzed.
Brown finally woke up in the intensive-care unit at Mass. General with a feeding tube, oxygen -- and a gaping wound in her abdomen. She was sent back to her North Attleborough home tethered to a "wound vacuum," which would periodically clean out the infected site. In April 2005, she went back in the hospital for 10 days for a skin graft, with skin taken from her right thigh and grafted onto her damaged abdomen.
"My belly button is gone," says Brown, 42. "It's not pretty. I'm not wearing any bikinis."
Extensive physical therapy helped Brown overcome the limited feeling in her left leg caused by surgery, and the tightness over her abdomen because of the skin graft. The infection had spread to her hip, and the graft covers that area, too.
Once recovered from all of her surgeries, Brown had to learn how to walk and swim straight again. "Because I had this huge open wound in my abdomen that was all bandaged over for a time, I hunched over. Forcing myself to stand upright again was hard. I had to work at it. And when I first got back to swimming, I was so tight on the left side that I couldn't swim straight."
Gradually, she worked her way back to exercise -- working out at the Foxborough Y, where she is employed in member services -- and in spring of last year, she was back in Webster for the Danskin Triathlon. "I'll never forget looking around as the sun was rising and feeling an overwhelming sense of appreciation that I was able to be there," Brown says. Her time: "A little short of my goal, but not too bad, considering everything."
She's been back in physical therapy to work on recurring issues with scar tissue and to loosen up a tight left hip that "messes up my knees."
She's not complaining. To the contrary, she's grateful. She knows many people in her condition have died. "I feel so fortunate. The experience made me realize how much I appreciate being able to run, swim, and bike." Her husband bought her a new bike, and she bought a wet suit, the better to protect her skin graft from the open water. In February, she and her husband ran a marathon in Tampa -- their first.
Today, she is heading back to Webster for another triathlon -- this time bringing friends who, like herself a few years ago, are new to it. Last year, she finished the course in one hour 37 minutes. This year, she'd love to do it in an hour and a half, though she's not hung up on time. At the end of next month, she'll be in Lakeville for another triathlon.
There's an old expression in the news business. When a colleague asks if a story you've just turned in is any good, the reply is: "If it's finished, it's good." The same could be said for people like Kim Brown, who refuse to give up despite near-death experiences, stiff knees, sore hips, tight skin, tough physical therapy, and constant workouts.
Finishing is better than good. It's great.
Columnist Bella English of Milton can be reached at english@globe.com. 
