A Florida man survived an infection of flesh-eating bacteria that he got in bizarre fashion from another man while trying to break up a fight at a family party.
Donnie Adams was attending a family event in Tampa Bay in February when two relatives began to tussle.
He was bitten by one of them while trying to tear them apart. While he immediately took himself to a hospital to get antibiotics, his condition quickly became worse.
“By the third day, my leg was very sore. I couldn’t walk, it was very warm and very painful,”
Donnie said
He eventually returned to the hospital, when he received startling news from osteopathic physician Dr. Fritz Brink at HCA Florida.
Brink told Adams he had necrotizing fasciitis, more commonly known as a flesh-eating bacteria.
The disease enters through a break in the skin, travels through the muscle sheath and destroys healthy tissue. Brink immediately performed surgery to cut out the infected tissue in Adams’ thigh, which the doctor believes came from the bite.
“A human bite Is dirtier than a dog bite as far as the kinds of bacteria that grows,’ said Brink. ‘Normal bacteria in an abnormal spot can be a real problem.”
Donnie needed at least three weeks to recover from the surgery, but is currently in the middle of a six month programme to fully heal from the episode.
Thankfully, he no longer has any functional problems, though he has a nasty, visible scar on his thigh from the surgery.
“If I would’ve waited … until the next day after that ER second visit, there was a good chance I would’ve lost my leg,” said Adams.
“They assessed my wound and it was very horrific,” Adams remembered. “It was unbelievable. But in my mind, I just had to get through whatever this was.”
Adams has maintained a positive attitude about the entire process and owes his recovery to both doctors, as well as praying and meditating regularly.
“What you see now, you see not just a scar, but the beauty of the aftermath,” he said.
“I would’ve never imagined that a human bite would turn into something so horrific as a flesh-eating bacteria.”
