(Dec 24) IT was just a tiny blister sitting on a bruise 1cm wide.
But this minor injury on his left leg below the knee, the result of a fall, would ultimately cost Mr Ali Sallim (L) his life.
Unknown to the 63-year-old, it got infected with the flesh-eating bug.
The bacteria made its way through his body, releasing toxins and causing his vital organs to fail.
Three weeks later, the father of five died at Changi General Hospital (CGH).
His daughter, Madam Shahirah, 31, a teacher, told The New Paper that Mr Ali had been healthy and fit, which made it harder for them to accept his sudden death.
Said Madam Shahirah: 'We had not heard of the flesh-eating bacteria before this.
'How could a healthy man die from a small bruise? Till today, we are still trying to come to terms with his death.'
Mr Ali was a contract worker and he drove baggage tractors at Changi Airport.
How he fell was a mystery in itself.
At a coroner's inquiry into his death on 12 Dec, the court heard that he had been on duty on 7 Aug last year.
At about 6.30pm, he was about to get off the tractor when he fell onto the ground. He had been driving alone, but told his family that he had felt someone pushing him off.
The court heard that there was a possibility that an unknown third party was at the scene when Mr Ali fell.
The investigating officer added that from the photographs taken at the scene, the area (in the building where it happened) was very dark.
In his findings, State Coroner Ronald Gwee said that as the deceased did not give more information about the person (who pushed him), the police were unable to identify him or her.
OPEN VERDICT
He then returned an open verdict on Mr Ali's death.
Mr Ali was not badly hurt in the fall. But he sustained a bruise, with a blister on it.
Madam Shahirah had attended the inquiry with her husband.
She recalled that when her father got home from work that night, he told the family he had been pushed off the tractor.
She said: 'My mother saw him coming home with a bruise on his leg, so she asked him what happened.
'He then told her that he was trying to alight from the tractor when he felt someone giving him a push. He fell and hurt his leg as a result.
'But when he turned around (after he landed), it was too dark to see anyone.'
She added that since it was the end of his shift, he went home but complained of a pain in his leg.
So the family took him to seek outpatient treatment at CGH.
A few days later, Mr Ali's calf swelled to double its size and had turned purple. It was also hurting badly.
The family took him to CGH again and he was warded.
Madam Shahirah said that same day, the doctors asked them to decide whether to allow them to 'operate on his leg to remove the pus and dead tissue'.
The alternative, she said, 'was to put my father on antibiotics and wait for a month'.
As they were still mulling over this, more bad news came.
Doctors told them that same evening that both Mr Ali's kidneys were failing.
They said he was suffering from necrotising fasciitis, more commonly known as the flesh-eating bacteria syndrome.
This condition is known to strike when bacteria found naturally on the skin surface goes under the skin, often through a cut or a bruise.
It then destroys soft tissue and fascia (the thin sheath covering muscle) by releasing toxins.
The only way to stop the bacteria is to cut away the affected area.
By midnight, Mr Ali's condition had deteriorated so much that he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
It was just one week after the fall.
Madam Shahirah recalled: 'The doctor told us that the accident had led the bacteria, which causes necrotising fasciitis, to contaminate his blood with toxins.
'Blood clots had formed in his injured leg and the bacteria was feeding on them.'
Mr Ali's family was told that the bacteria was spreading very fast and that he had to be put on kidney dialysis.
Mr Ali then went for an operation on his leg to remove all the dead tissues and toxins.
Still, the bacteria continued to spread.
Within another week or so, Mr Ali's lungs and stomach were hit. By then, he was in a semi-conscious state.
'Once, he opened his eyes and spoke to us, but he sounded confused,' said Madam Shahirah.
'He told the doctors that he had five children but when asked where he was, he said he was taking a break at work.
'Not long later, his intestines were damaged by the bacteria which was moving around in his blood and poisoning his organs.
'The doctors then told us to be mentally prepared for my father's death. But we just couldn't accept it.'
On 27 Aug, two days after a second operation, Mr Ali died. It had been only three weeks since he fell.
He left behind his wife, five children and six grandchildren.
Madam Shahirah said her father used to work as a supervisor at a firm which cleans the interior of aircraft at Changi Airport.
He retired at 62 but decided to go back to work at Changi Airport as a contract worker.
She said: 'He was a hardworking man who had never taken a day off. He became restless doing nothing at home, so we let him continue working.'
His death was a big blow to the close-knit family and they hope that any witnesses to his fall would come forward with information.
'It's very scary to think how a small wound actually led to his death,' said Madam Shahirah.
'He was the best father his children could ever have. My regret is that I only told him I love him when he was on his deathbed.'
