LONDON: The widow of a victim of the flesh-eating bacteria told how she kissed her husband as their children pleaded with him not to die.
Christine Bowden, whose husband Terry had been fit and healthy two days earlier, said she ''could not believe this was happening to me''.
Mrs Bowden, 34, of London, watched and prayed helplessly as the infection ate away at muscle in her husband's right leg after he was taken to Lewisham Hospital, southeast London, four months ago.
Bowden, a healthy man, had not let a year of unemployment affect his fitness. Unlike other victims, he had not undergone surgery and did not have an open wound. In his case, the infection attacked muscle, not fat.
Mrs Bowden recalled the shock of his death: ''On the Sunday he cooked breakfast as normal. As the morning wore on, he complained that he had flu and a headache.'' Later that day, he complained of leg pains. She called an ambulance.
At first she was reassured by his treatment at the hospital. There was talk of blood clots and possible surgery.