Raul Reyes mystery flesh eating bacteria leads to emergency amputation: A Houston daycare worker believing he had a nagging blister finds out he has a life or death dilemma on his hands.
A Houston, Texas daycare teacher is lucky to still be alive after being forced to amputate his right foot after what he believed to simply be a blister actually turning out to be flesh eating bacteria.
Raul Reyes, 26 had gone to a local Houston clinic to treat a ‘nagging’ blister on his foot only for further tests to reveal the blister was in fact flesh eating bacteria.
The infection which proved life threatening if it got into Reyes bloodstream forced doctors to make a ‘quick decision’, where it was determined amputating the foot was the only way to go.
‘Raul hurt his foot at work, so he thought the swollenness was due to the injury. After a few days, it was still swollen and he has a blister on his foot, which he thought was caused by his shoe,’ Reyes’ wife Joseline Reyes told via the Houston Chronicle.
Adding, ‘He woke up the next day and the blister was covering his entire foot so he went to the clinic, where they told him to get to the emergency room immediately.’
Doctors suspect the infection got into Reyes’ foot through an open wound or ingrown toenail.
Rare flesh eating disease also known as necrotising fasciitis and how it can create havoc.
Flesh eating bacteria usually live in brackish or salt water, but Reyes and his wife are unsure of exactly where he could have picked up the parasite. Of note, Joseline said they hadn’t gone to the beach in over a year.
Underscoring the seriousness of the flesh eating disease, also known by its scientific name, necrotising fasciitis, a report via the dailymail describes the malignancy as a rare but serious bacterial infection that can destroy the skin, fat, and the tissue covering the muscles within a very short time if left untreated.
Adding, ‘It can start from a relatively minor injury, such as a small cut or insect bite when bacteria enters a wound. The disease can be caused by several types of bacteria. Cases where people have caught it from the ocean have been infected with saltwater containing a Vibrio species.
As well as being found in warm sea waters, these organisms and are often present in raw oysters, shellfish, and other seafood.
It is an extremely uncommon cause of necrotizing fasciitis and more likely to affect people with compromised immune systems. The infection gets worse very quickly and can be fatal if it’s not recognised and treated early on.
The sooner treatment begins, the more likely the patient will recover from the infection and avoid serious complications, such as limb amputation.’
While flesh eating bacteria infection is rare, a study via HealthLink BC asserts the disease kills one in four people who contract it.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 700 to 1,100 cases have occurred each year in the United States since 2010, though there are probably more cases that go unreported.
Raul Reyes Post Operation rehab:
Post operation Reyes has undergone rehab with a prosthetic foot and is resuming his post as a teacher, albeit he’s without insurance.
In light of his lack of coverage, his family has set up a GoFundMe to pay for medical costs.
He’s currently using a walker to move around.
‘Sometimes I send him videos of the kids saying hi to him, and it just raises his spirits,’ Joseline told KTXS.
‘And he wants to go back to work already and be with the kids.’
‘I think about it everyday, everyday he has been here,’ added Raul’s wife. ‘I think about how I could have lost him.’
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