Florida Dad Ben West to Lose Leg After Vibrio Swelled It 8 Times
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 19
Florida Dad Ben West to Lose Leg After Vibrio Swelled It 8 Times
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 19
Summary
Ben West is expected to undergo a leg amputation in the coming weeks, about a year after a Vibrio vulnificus infection left him with chronic pain and sores that would not heal.
Doctors told the Florida father amputation was needed to restore any quality of life after the affected leg remained eight times larger than the other and sent what he described as electric-shock pain.
The infection began during an Aug. 25, 2025 fishing trip in Port St. Joe, when bacteria entered raw skin on his ankle; his wife said an initial cellulitis diagnosis and antibiotics preceded a rapid decline that put him on life support.
Vibrio naturally lives in coastal waters and can infect open wounds, not just people who eat raw shellfish, making West's family a warning case about water exposure risks.