NEED TO KNOW
- A father is in the hospital after contracting a flesh-eating bacteria while on a family fishing trip in Florida on Aug. 23
- Ben West has been infected with Vibrio vulnificus, according to a GoFundMe page and an interview his family members gave to local media outlet WJHG
- “We never would have believed he would be on death’s doorstep,” West’s fiancée Janie Knowles shared on the fundraiser
A Florida man is fighting for his life in the hospital after becoming infected with flesh-eating bacteria on a family fishing trip.
Ben West, 38, contracted the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus while fishing for crab and mullet with his family in Port St. Joe on Aug. 23, according to a GoFundMe page and an interview his family members gave to local media outlet WJHG.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Vibrio vulnificus is “a type of bacteria that can cause a fatal infection. You get it from eating uncooked or undercooked shellfish or when seawater enters a wound. Symptoms get worse quickly. They include fever, low blood pressure and painful blisters.”
West’s fiancée Janie Knowles shared on the fundraiser that the father started complaining of “serious burning in his foot and ankle,” which began to swell “terribly,” “It was the worst pain he’s ever felt,” she recalled.
West went to the hospital two days later and was misdiagnosed with cellulitis. He was sent home with antibiotics, which caused a reaction and his skin “began to blister,” according to Knowles.
“There were blisters everywhere,” she recalled to WJHG. “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.”
West’s father, Keith West, also told the outlet, “The hardest part so far is watching him be in that bed helpless, not knowing if he’s going to live or die, right now in particular, not knowing if he’s going to get to keep that part of his leg or not, the foot, the leg, from the knee down.”
According to the GoFundMe page, West “started to decline extremely fast” and he was sent to Bay Medical in Panama City less than 24 hours later. “We never would have believed he would be on death’s doorstep, a ventilator and highly possibly becoming an amputee of his entire left leg,” Knowles wrote.
Knowles also told WJHG that West’s kidneys and liver were failing from the infection, but in an update on the GoFundMe page on Friday, Aug. 29, Knowles wrote that a doctor had told them that West’s kidneys appeared to be improving.
“I was blank, everything was happening so fast, I was scared, scared to death, and I remember fainting, but when I came back, I was on my knees and I was saying ‘God please, do not take him from me, God please,’ ” Knowles told WJHG. “He’s loving, he’s a loving guy, he’s a family man, he loves his children, he loves his children, he’s fought for it, he’s fought really hard.”
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West initially had two surgeries to remove the infected tissue. In images shared on the GoFundMe page, he is seen at the hospital with tubes in his nose and one of his legs severely blistered and bruised all over his shin down to the ankle.
“Luckily as of the two surgeries, the bacteria had not gotten into the muscle, which was amazing news. It did effect his left leg from the knee down but had NOT spread,” said Knowles, adding, “…We still have a series of surgeries ahead of us [with] a LONG, LONG road of recovery…”
Following West’s surgery on Aug. 29, Knowles shared in an update that doctors believe the progression of the virus has stopped.
“Doctor feels confident he has STOPPED the progression and now we have to start dealing with the residual affects to his skin,” she wrote. “There will likely be skin that dies … [and] skin grafts will [possibly] be needed at a later time.” West is next due for surgery on Tuesday, Sept. 2.
The GoFundMe page has raised over $16,000 so far with a goal of $20,000 to cover medical costs.
On Aug. 28, the Florida Department of Health at Bay County (FDH) issued a health alert of a “recent sewage spillage” in Port St. Joe that could have caused bacteria contamination in the area and urged locals not to swim there.
“Until further information is known regarding possible bacterial contamination of enterococci, a fecal-indicator bacteria, residents and visitors in the area are urged to take precautions when in contact with the impacted area in Gulf County,” the FDH said.
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