Florida man Donnie Adams, 53, has survived a flesh-eating bacteria infection after being bitten by a family member.
Adams had attempted to break up a fight between two family members in February when one of the family members bit him on his thigh, according to NBC News. Adams was taken to an emergency room and was initially given a tetanus shot and sent home with antibiotics to treat the wound.
The victim told NBC that he did not grasp the full gravity of the situation unfolding. The wound progressively got worse over the ensuing days, swelling and becoming painful to touch.
“By day number three, the leg was swollen, it felt very warm and I had problems with mobility and everything,” said Adams, according to NBC.
Adams was brought back to HCA Florida Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg on Feb. 19 and rushed into an operating room. Dr. Fritz Brink, a wound care specialist, likened the appearance of Adams’ leg to an orange peel due to the swelling.
Several days later, Adams had another surgery. He had apparently contracted necrotizing fasciitis, otherwise known as “flesh-eating disease,” which required Brink to remove approximately 60% of the skin on the front of Adams’ left thigh in order to halt the infection’s progress.
It took about three months for Adams’ thigh to heal. He is expected to make a full recovery. Despite his experience, he does not bear any hard feelings towards his family members.
“Family is everything, and sometimes things go down in families,” he told NBC. “I’m a man of faith. People can be forgiven and that’s the way I feel about that. It was a family event that went sour between two people and even though I got in middle of it and I got injured, it doesn’t mean I’m going to hate my family over this.”
The CDC reports that the multiple types of bacteria that cause necrotizing fasciitis typically cause infections by entering the body through breaks in the skin, such as cuts, scrapes, puncture wounds, and more.
Brinks told NBC that it is rare to see an infection develop from a human bite wound, especially one that is life-threatening. He theorized that Adams’ case was originally a minor infection that became dangerous when it reached his muscle tissue.
Adams said that he was only days away from the infection progressing to the point of amputation being necessary.
This is not the only occurrence of dangerous bacteria appearing in the sunshine state. Florida saw a spike in cases in 2022, with 65 cases of infection and 11 deaths caused by vibrio vulnificus, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The Florida Department of Health currently reports that a total of 13 cases and four deaths have occurred this year as of June 16.
Adams was released from the hospital in March and, following the use of a walker for a brief period of time, is now able to get around pain-free.
