The family of a Florida man who was infected with flesh-eating bacteria have revealed the terrifying symptoms that are putting his life in danger.
Ben West, 38, contracted Vibrio vulnificus after he and his family went crabbing and mullet fishing on August 23 under a bridge in Port St. Joe, a town in the Florida panhandle.
Cases have been on the rise, and the Centers for Disease Control estimates that one in five people who are infected will die.
Shortly after the fishing trip, West began complaining that he had serious swelling and burning in his foot and ankle.
After he told his fiancée, Jamie Knowles, that it felt like his leg was on fire, she took him to the hospital on August 25.
She claimed doctors gave him the incorrect diagnosis of cellulitis and prescribed him antibiotics. The antibiotics, she said, is what caused West’s leg to blister even further and his blood pressure to sink to an dangerously low level.
‘There were blisters everywhere, they were busting, it was swelling, you couldn’t recognize his leg compared to the other one, it was actually four times bigger than the other one,’ Knowles told WJHG.
Knowles said all of his left leg’s tissue was affected and that it resembles a third-degree burn. Also concerning was the fact that his liver and kidneys were failing from the infection.
Ben West, 38, was diagnosed with Vibrio vulnificus, a severe bacterial infection that can cause kidney and liver failure. His fiancée, Jamie Knowles, took him to the hospital and has been caring for him
Vibrio vulnificus, also known as flesh-eating bacteria, can also cause skin tissue to turn black and die. In serious cases, patients will have to have limbs amputated (Pictured: West’s leg after he was infected with the bacteria)
Vibrio vulnificus eats away at tissues in the skin until they shrivel, turn black, and die, a condition called necrotizing fasciitis, requiring lengthy surgery to strip the dead skin from the patient’s body or amputation to remove the limb to save the person’s life.
‘The hardest part so far is watching him be in that bed, helpless. Not knowing if he’s gonna live or die. Right now in particular, not knowing if he’s gonna get to keep that lower part of his leg or not. The foot, the leg from the knee down,’ said West’s father, Keith.
West has already had two surgeries, which have involved draining the buildup of fluids in his leg. According to Knowles, he still has three more to go.
West’s family has set up a GoFundMe to pay for his medical bills. Knowles has also used the page to give updates on his condition.
Knowles wrote in an August 29 update that after West’s third surgery, doctors were confident that they stopped the bacteria’s progression.
Doctors allegedly told her that if that West would have been as ‘good as dead’ if the bacteria had spread into his muscles or any higher than his hips.
West’s medical team is now more concerned about the damage the bacteria has done to his skin and have not ruled out skin grafts in the future.
He will undergo a fourth surgery on Tuesday to drain fluids from his leg once again.
Pictured: The water where West was infected with the flesh-eating bacteria. This bridge is located in Port St. Joe, a town in the Florida panhandle
West’s family has said their faith has kept them going through this extraordinarily difficult time (Pictured: West poses with his kids and his
The family has said their faith has kept them going through this extraordinarily difficult time.
‘It’s been very difficult, and the fact that God is in control and so many people are praying and that I know that he hears and he answers prayer, has been a comfort to me,’ Keith said.
Knowles described West as a ‘family man’ who loves his children and doing outdoor activities with them.
They have both warned their fellow Floridians to stay out of the water in this area.
‘Do NOT take the risk, this is a nasty nasty bacteria that’s taking people lives & if not their lives, their limbs…it is NOT worth it I promise & IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU,’ Knowles wrote in the GoFundMe description.
‘Benjamin is a very HEALTHY 38 year old man with NO HEALTH problems that became septic in less than 24 hours,’ she added.
The GoFundMe has raised nearly $16,000 toward a $20,000 goal as of Tuesday morning.
The CDC says that Vibrio vulnificus is more common in coastal waters and are typically found in higher numbers in May through October.
Most people are infected by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters. It’s also possible to get it by going into contaminated water with an open wound.
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