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Mayesville resident thankful to be alive after rare infection BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com Mayesville resident Teri Whitaker woke up one morning in late October with a large, dark boil on her body. A few days later she was in the intensive care unit at Doctors Hospital of Augusta. Whitaker was diagnosed with necrotizing soft tissue infection, a rare infection of the deeper layers of skin. Such infections are more likely to occur in people with compromised immune systems as a result of a chronic disease, according to an article in American Family Physician. Whitaker has suffered from dia-
betes for about 17 years. She said doctors told her the boil was a result of her diabetes. She had to undergo six surgeries and stay at the hospital in Augusta for about a month and a half, she said. “I am lucky to be alive,” she said. “God gave me a second chance.” Whitaker said she did not live a healthy lifestyle before the infection. “I wasn’t eating right; I wasn’t taking my medicine; I just wasn’t doing what I was supposed to do,” she said. After staying in bed for about a month and a half at the hospital, she was finally able to get up and walk a short distance with a walker
from her room to the nurses’ station and back. That was the physical test that allowed her to be discharged from the hospital, she said. “I still am weak and tired all the time,” Whitaker said. “I can’t walk more than from one room to the other in my house without a walker. I just want to be healthy again.” Doctors told her it will take between six and 12 months for her to recover fully, she said. When she returned home last week, Whitaker found a stack of medical bills. Insurance did not cover all of her medical expenses, she said. With six children, four of
KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY / THE SUMTER ITEM
Mayesville resident Teri Whitaker is recovering at her home after being diagnosed with necrotizing soft tissue infection and spending about two SEE INFECTION, PAGE A3 months in the hospital.
Christmas Dinner for 400
Southern storm survivors glad to see Christmas BY BILL BARROW The Associated Press
PHOTOS BY RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM
Wyteria Andrew, left, accepts a plate of food from Mary Zimmerman to take to people seated in the M.H. Newman Family Center. Members of the Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church put on the annual dinner so that everyone has an opportunity to have a Christmas meal. Members of the congregation volunteer to prepare the food, serve it to guests and clean up afterwards.
Church cooks up opportunity for all to have special day BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church held its fourth Community Christmas Dinner Friday for all Sumterites who wanted to spend the holiday with family members, neighbors and strangers. The gathering, which began as an opportunity to provide a holiday meal to the homeless, has grown to provide food for anyone who wanted a Christmas dinner. After a morning Christmas service in the church’s sanctuary, the guests walked across the street to the M.H. Newton Family Life Center to eat. Although the dinner lasted from about 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the day started at 8:30 a.m. for some of the volunteers who decorated the gym and prepared the food. Event Coordinator Shekia Bradford said more than 300 people had come to the dinner by 1:30 p.m., and she expected more than 400 guests in total. She said volunteers also packed and delivered at least 200 to-go trays for community members who were unable to make it to the dinner.
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Mae and Ralph Robateau sing God’s praise with the congregation during a Christmas Day service at Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church just before serving a free meal to the public Friday. Bradford said volunteering during the dinner goes a long way. Putting in the work and hours is worth it when someone remembers the kindness that was shown to them, she said. She mentioned an instance when she was recognized by a guest of a past dinner. “It’s a good feeling,” Bradford said. Sheri Wharton, a volunteer, said all that matters is seeing the smiles on the guest’s faces. This is the first year Wharton has participated with the dinner, and she is already looking forward to coming back next year. “I love it,” she said.
She said the best thing is to see the guests smiling when they are treated with the kindness they deserve. “I’m home 364 days of the year,” Wharton answered when asked how she felt about spending most of Christmas day away from home. For a day deemed by most to be the most special of the year, she wanted to spend her time giving to others. “A lot of people don’t have a home to go to, and they don’t receive presents,” she said. It’s important for those who are less fortunate to feel as special today as others do the rest of the year, she said.
DEATHS, A6 and A7 Jean D. Gulledge Nancy Kaiser Margaret G. Cummings Travis J. Davis Julia H. Pate Daniel J. McKiever Randy McElveen
John E. Felder Gaynell McFadden Ted Ogburn Seward Abraham Cynthia D. Price-Smith Franklin H. Johnson Dorothea W. Ford
Dozens of people lost their homes, yet they say they are thankful to see another Christmas. Tony Goodwin ducked into a storm shelter with seven others as a storm pounded Tennessee and other states in the southeastern U.S. He emerged to find his house in Linden had been knocked off its foundation and hurled down a hill by high winds. Goodwin’s neighbors weren’t so fortunate. Two people in one home were killed. “It makes you thankful to be alive with your family,” he said. Unseasonably warm weather on Wednesday helped spawn torrential rain and deadly tornadoes that left at least 14 people dead and left dozens of families homeless by Christmas Eve. Parts of Mississippi remained under a flood warning Friday. Weather forecasters from the National Weather Service warned that a strong storm crossing the central part of the state could produce hail and winds of more than 40 mph. The storm was bringing with it the risk of falling trees, downed power lines and flash flooding, officials said. But that didn’t stop some from spending their Christmas giving rather than receiving. Nicholas Garbacz, disaster program manager for the American Red Cross of North Mississippi, said members of the Marine Corps brought donated toys to a center in Holly Springs for children whose families were hit hard by the storms. Two of the seven people killed in Mississippi were from the Holly Springs area. Dozens of children and their families showed up Friday morning to pick up a toy or other items they might need to recover from the storm, Garbacz said. More severe weather was also in store for parts of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee that were again being pounded with rain. Residents were warned to brace for flash flooding and possible tornadoes. Among the dead were seven people from Mississippi, including a 7-yearold boy who perished while riding in a car that was swept up and tossed by storm winds. Six people were killed in Tennessee, including three who were found in a car submerged in a creek, according to the Columbia Police Department. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said the victims were a 19-year-old female and two 22-year-old males. One person died in Arkansas, and dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed.
SEE WEATHER, PAGE A3
WEATHER, A8
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TROPICAL UPDATE
2 SECTIONS, 16 PAGES VOL. 121, NO. 61
Continued warm and humid today and tonight with intervals of clear and cloudy; good chance of some rain. HIGH 79, LOW 61
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