A Florida father has been fighting for his life after getting infected with a flesh-eating bacteria that left his leg covered in giant, bursting blisters, his family said.
Ben West, 38, was infected with Vibrio Vulnificus after he went crabbing and mullet fishing with his family in Port St. Joe on August 23, according to a GoFundMe and local news reports. Three days later, West became confused and disoriented, and his fiancée, Janie Knowles, brought him to the hospital, where he received the diagnosis, she told WJHG.
“Big blisters started popping up, like it was trying to leave the leg, it was just at the ankle, coming up to the back side of the leg, to the calf, he said ‘it’s the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt in my life,” Knowles said.
Vibrio vulnificus is a type of bacterium that thrives in warm seawater, but infections are generally rare. If someone is infected, the bacteria are fast-spreading and can kill within days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“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,” she added.
Not only was West’s leg tissue completely affected by the infection, but he also suffered kidney and liver failure as a result, his fiancée told the news station.
“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.
West had undergone four surgeries as of Monday, but more will likely be needed.
West originally had two surgeries to remove the infected tissue. One picture shared on the fundraiser’s page shows him in a hospital bed with tubes in his nose, while others show his leg covered in large blisters and bruises. In an August 29 update after West’s third surgery, Knowles said that the doctors believed the progression of the virus had 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 be needed at a later time.”
The fundraiser, made to help cover some of the medical bills, had raised nearly $17,000 as of Tuesday.
“We still have a series of surgeries ahead of us and doctors say a LONG LONG road of recovery once we leave the hospital,” Knowles wrote.
Now West’s family is urging people to exercise caution if they decide to swim in local waterways.
“When I tell you that this disease, if you’re wrong, it will kill you, it will kill your relatives, it will kill your loved ones, and you’re going to have to make up your own mind if it’s worth it,” the victim’s father, Keith West, told WJHG.
“Just love your family and just don’t let the impossible sit in the background because it can happen, you can be a victim of things of this nature, the next moment is not promised, and it can be you, it can be,” Knowles added.
On the fundraiser, Knowles also noted that her fiancée was “very healthy with no health problems” but “became septic in less than 24 hours” after he was infected.
Vibrio vulnificus is mostly an issue for people living along the Gulf Coast, as the bacteria thrive in seawater and in the mix of fresh and saltwater found in estuaries and lagoons. Most infections are reported in Gulf Coast states from May to October.
While infection is rare, there have been 23 confirmed cases of Vibrio vulnificus in Florida this year, and five have resulted in death, according to the state health department. Last year, there were 82 cases reported and 19 deaths, whereas in 2023, there were 46 cases and 11 deaths, according to the health department.
