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, aged 38, became infected with Vibrio vulnificus after going crabbing and mullet fishing with his family on August 23 in Port St. Joe, a town located in Florida’s 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.
Initially, doctors misdiagnosed him with cellulitis and prescribed antibiotics. According to his fiancée, Jamie Knowles, these antibiotics actually worsened West’s condition, causing his leg to develop more blisters and leading his blood pressure to drop to a dangerously low level.
“Blisters had formed everywhere, they were bursting, and the swelling became so severe that you couldn’t tell his leg apart from the other one; it was actually four times the size,” Knowles recounted to WJHG.
Knowles stated that the tissue of his left leg was completely compromised, resembling a third-degree burn. A critical concern was the infection also leading to the failure of his liver and kidneys.
Ben West, 38, was suffering from Vibrio vulnificus, a severe bacterial infection that can result in liver and kidney failure. His fiancée, Jamie Knowles, rushed him to the hospital and has been looking after him.
Vibrio vulnificus, commonly referred to as a flesh-eating bacterium, can result in skin tissue turning black and dying. In extreme situations, patients may need to undergo amputation of limbs (Pictured: West’s leg after the bacterial infection).
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.
