An Australian woman, Billie Bedser, was blowing leaves off her pathway back in 2020 when her life suddenly changed, although she didn't know that at the time. She stepped on a stick, with many splinters entering her skin. One of them, however, the one she couldn't pull out, eventually caused her a plethora of conditions, including pain and seizures.
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In an exclusive Newsweek piece, Bedser, a DJ, shared her heartbreaking story. While she took most of the splinters that had pierced her skin, since the COVID pandemic caused doctors not to take face-to-face appointments at the time, her foot started to hurt. She needed to seek a doctor's help, but what she heard surprised her.
"If it's wood, the body will push it out," the doctor told Bedser, according to her.
Condition Worsens
For two years, the so-called "wood splinter" remained inside her foot. In 2022, Billie Bedser could barely walk, and some days the pain was so excruciating that she was left bedbound.
"This was completely out of character for me, as I take pride in looking after my mind, body and soul," Bedser said. "Not being able to train at the gym—and losing 22 pounds of muscle as a result—was incredibly hard to accept."
Bedser decided to take an X-ray to get to the bottom of her suffering. However, it came back clean. Later, she would find out that the standard X-rays do not pick up wood. While she wanted to continue investigating her pain, she was made to feel as if her pain was not physical, but psychological.
The next three years, while questioning whether her pain was real or not, her health continued to deteriorate. Doctors told her she was suffering from anxiety, given her mental health history, and was even prescribed antidepressants. These didn't help the extreme fatigue and even the multiple seizures she suffered every single day.
Breakthrough
Eventually, a 10-hour drive caused her foot to become swollen, turning into a large lump, and finally becoming an abscess. Doctors believed at the time that it was a ganglion, a benign cyst. However, the abscess burst, and she was prescribed antibiotics. It was at this time that a doctor finally ran additional tests to help find the reason behind her pain and symptoms.
Turns out, Billie Bedser suffered from osteomyelitis. This is a serious infection that happens when bacteria or fungi infect the bone marrow, as per Cleveland Clinic. On March 26, 2025, surgeons managed to clean out the infection, shave part of her bone, and remove the splinter that had been stuck inside her skin for five years.
Now, doctors are still trying to determine the exact cause of the infection. Additionally, Bedser is fighting against the many conditions stemming from the infection that has affected her body. She has suffered only one seizure since the procedure, but her fatigue remains the same. However, Bedser remains positive and is doing everything she can to protect her mental health.
"I truly believe that sometimes our greatest downfalls can turn into our greatest blessings," Bedser said. "I've used this time to learn and grow, but it's bittersweet. I had a good career in music for 18 years and felt like it was taking off, then COVID hit, and that was hard enough, but then to lose more years to illness was devastating."
