A 40-year-old woman from Shawnee, Oklahoma, recently had to get major parts of both arms and both legs amputated due to a serious infection from an unnoticed tick bite after a vacation, according to her husband and hospital staff. 
 
 The patient, Jo Rogers, is currently in the intensive care unit of Integris' Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where she is being treated for complications stemming from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF), her husband, Keith Rogers, told ABC News Friday. 
 
 RMSF is a potentially fatal tick-borne disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
 
 "After things started going bad and she went into septic shock, the blood flow cut off to her limbs, and her hands and feet started going black," her husband said. "So, two weeks ago, they had to cut off her right leg just above the knee, her left leg just below the knee and both her arms about mid-forearm." 
 
 Keith Rogers said that he visits his wife every day at the hospital as she battles other complications from RMSF, including blood clots in her lungs that necessitated a tracheotomy last Friday. 
 
 "Every day is a new challenge," he said. "I go in there, sit and talk to her and show her pictures of how our two boys are doing. I show her videos of her two dogs back at home. I try to keep it normal, but it gets very hard because she'll want me not to leave, and it's so hard because I can't take her with me." 
 
 Though Jo Rogers currently can't speak or walk, her husband wants people to know she is a fun-loving woman who loved her dogs, hiking and nature. 
 
 The couple went hiking at Natural Falls State Park, close to the Oklahoma-Arkansas border, this past Fourth of July, he said, explaining that there weren't many waterfalls in Oklahoma and she wanted to go see one. 
 
 "But when we came back, she started feeling sick, and she thought she might have the flu," Keith Rogers said, noting that headaches turned into fevers that then became aggravated with vomiting and dizziness. 
 
 Though his wife initially resisted going to the hospital, she was so lethargic a week later that "she wasn't making any sense," Keith Rogers said, so he took her to the emergency room. 
 
 As her health deteriorated, doctors did rounds of tests on her, including tests for meningitis and West Nile Virus, but they only figured out she had complications from a tick-borne illness when she was already developing gangrene on her limbs, he said. 
 
 "We're not sure if she was bit by the tick when we were hiking at the falls or if it was at home," he said. "I don't think it's really set in with my family yet, but for me, it's up and down every day." 
 
 Keith Rogers said he's not sure if his wife will be in the hospital for a few more months or a year, but once she's fully recovered, he said she'll likely transition to rehab and that the family would take it from there. 
 
 A GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of Jo's medical care has been set up by her cousin, he added. 
 
 "RMSF is the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in Oklahoma," according to the state Health Department. "In addition, Oklahoma has one of the highest rates of RMSF in the United States." 
 
 A spokesperson for Integris' Baptist Medical Center told ABC News that Jo Rogers' physician declined to be interviewed but confirmed she was currently at the hospital being treated for RMSF and that she has had amputations. 
 
 Dr. Jennifer Ashton, a senior medical contributor for ABC News, said RMSF is s currently in peak tick season. 
 
 "It's been reported in urban areas and even found in people who have not been camping," she said. 
 
 The symptoms -- fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and rash -- can mimic a lot of viruses, she said. 
 
 "If there is a suspicion that these symptoms could be related to a tick bite, the recommendation is to start doxycycline antibiotics immediately because time is of the essence," said Ashton. ||||| This is my precious, beautiful cousin, Jo Rogers. She just turned 40 last march, has 2 young sons, ages 17 and 12 and today is her and her husband, Keith's 14th wedding anniversary, but she isn't able to celebrate it. She has been in the 3 different hospitals since July 9th, after a short vacation in NE Oklahoma. Shortly after being moved to an Oklahoma City hospital, she went into septic shock and was put on a ventilator into a medical coma. She was tested for West Nile Virus, meningitis and all other bacterial and viral infections. To protect her vital organs, her body deferred the infection to her limbs. Since then she has had surgeries to remove her right leg mid-thigh, her left leg below the knee and both of her arms mid-forearm. She will soon have more surgeries on her arms to prevent the infection from spreading more. Last Friday, it was found that she has a blood clot in her lung, more infection in her blood and they are fighting the possibility of pneumonia. They finally found that she has Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever; the worst case seen. She is still on a ventilator and being kept sedated to help with pain. Although she will have insurance for a couple more months, her medical bills are mounting daily and will continue as she will be in the hospital for many more months with rehab, prosthetics and home and car renovation to accommodate her needs. While still working, her husband is at the hospital for most of his free time while still trying to take care of their sons. Although our friends and family are doing all we can to help them, it will never be enough so I am asking for help from anyone who is willing to help. I really didn't know what to set the donation amount at because I have never had to worry about something like this. It's all so overwhelming, unreal and devastatingly heartbreaking. Any help offered would be so appreciated! Enjoy every minute of every single day because you never know what could happen tomorrow. Thank you and God bless. 
 
 Help spread the word! Share Tweet 3.2k total shares total shares ||||| Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever 
 
 
 
 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is a reportable disease in Oklahoma. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) is a disease caused by the bacteria Rickettsia rickettsii (R. rickettsii). In Oklahoma, the tick most closely associated with RMSF is the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis). The other known tick vectors of R. rickettsii include the Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus), and the cayenne tick (Amblyomma cajennense). Humans nearly always become infected with the bacteria following the bite of an infected tick. Tick bites due to the American dog tick are common in Oklahoma, but fortunately only 1–3% of the tick population is infected with R. rickettsii and capable of transmitting RMSF. 
 
 At least 4–6 hours of tick attachment and feeding are usually required to pass on the infection to humans. The symptoms of RMSF usually begin 3–14 days following the infected tick bite. There is usually a sudden onset of fever, fatigue, headache, and muscle soreness. A fine, bumpy red rash often appears on the extremities about 3–5 days after the fever, which may quickly spread to the palms, soles and trunk. However, not all persons with RMSF develop a rash. Other common symptoms of RMSF include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and red eyes. 
 
 Diagnosis is based upon clinical signs and symptoms, but laboratory testing can also be used to help diagnose RMSF. Blood samples taken in the early stage of illness (acute phase) and follow up samples taken 2–4 weeks later (convalescent phase) are used to confirm cases of RMSF through serologic testing. However laboratory testing can take days to weeks for results to become available, so treatment should never be delayed while awaiting laboratory confirmation. 
 
 The first line treatment for all cases of RMSF is antibiotics (doxycyline). Treatment should be started immediately whenever RMSF is suspected because it can be a very serious disease; overall, 3–5% of all persons with RMSF die, but death is uncommon with prompt diagnosis and treatment. Factors associated with worse outcomes include delayed antibiotic therapy and age over 40 years. Although RMSF can be severe, preventive antibiotic therapy in non-ill persons following a tick bite is not recommended. 
 
 The key to preventing RMSF is avoiding tick bites and using personal tick bite prevention strategies when in wooded or tick infected areas. 
 
 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Fact Sheets and Information: 
 
 
 
 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Fact Sheet (91k.pdf) 
 
 Fiebre maculosa de las montañas rocosas Hoja Informativa (172k.pdf) 
 
 Tickborne Disease Prevention 
 
 Map of Five Year Average Incidence Rate by County, Year 2012-2016 (263k.pdf) 
 
 External Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Resources: 
 
 
 
 RMSF (CDC) 
 
 Tickborne Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Data (1000kb.pdf)(CDC) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

– A Fourth of July hike to see waterfalls near Grand Lake, Okla., took a bad turn once Jo Rogers and her husband, Keith, got home. Soon after their return, Keith tells ABC News, Jo didn't feel well and suspected the flu. But as Jo got sicker and so lethargic that Keith says "she wasn't making any sense," he took her to the ER about a week after they came home—and things continued to worsen. "She was shaking her hands because they hurt, her feet hurt," her cousin, Lisa Morgan, tells KOCO. Then her organs began shutting down, and "by Saturday morning, her arms and feet were turning dark blue and black. It was crawling up her limbs," Morgan says. The diagnosis: a tick bite that infected Jo with Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The course of treatment: to amputate all four of her already-gangrenous limbs to give her a chance at life. "They had to cut off her right leg just above the knee, her left leg just below the knee and both her arms about mid-forearm," her husband tells ABC, noting Jo has also been contending with other complications from the disease, including blood clots in her lungs that called for a tracheotomy. Up to 5% people who contract RMSF end up dying, the state Department of Health notes, but death isn't common in patients who receive rapid diagnosis and treatment. Keith Rogers doesn't know how long his wife will be in the hospital receiving treatment and rehab, he tells ABC. "Every day is a new challenge. I go in there, sit and talk to her and show her pictures of how our two boys [ages 12 and 17, per a GoFundMe page for the family] are doing," he tells ABC. "I show her videos of her two dogs back at home. I try to keep it normal, but it gets very hard because she'll want me not to leave, and it's so hard because I can't take her with me." (There's another new tick-borne disease making waves.)