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The Memphis hospital discovered that Bennett had contracted Vibrio vulnificus, a type of flesh-eating bacterium, that had killed him. The Memphis Baptist Hospital has sent the results to the Shelby County Health Department in Tennessee, which plans to send them to the Okaloosa County Health Department, Wiygul said.
NICEVILLE – Every summer, David Bennett took his family to North Carolina, where he enjoyed spending time on the beaches and in the water.
"It was her favorite thing to do," said Cheryl Wiygul, her only child. "He thought the beach was great too."
However, Bennett, 66, died of a flesh-eating bacterium after apparently contracting on the emerald coast on Sunday, July 7.
Bennett spent the day after July 4 in Rocky Bayou, swimming and watching his daughter's five children ride a PWC, Wiygul said. He had a weakened immune system after 18 years of fighting chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He also swam in Crab Island and Boggy Bayou while he was in town from Memphis, Tennessee.
But Wiygul is convinced that he has contracted the deadly infection in Rocky Bayou, where the family spent the day Friday, July 5th. Early the next morning, Bennett had a fever, chills and complained of having sore legs, Wiygul said.
However, Bennett and his wife Judy, over 40, had flown to Memphis this Saturday morning. They decided to wait and see the doctors there later in the day.
Bennett developed a big black spot on his back and, despite the absence of heart problems, suffered two heart attacks. He fell into a coma and passed away Sunday afternoon, just over a day after feeling sick, Wiygul said.
"I told my mother to tell her that I love her," she said. "She said it was the only time he had smiled since arriving. Shortly after, he lost consciousness. "
The Memphis hospital discovered that Bennett had contracted Vibrio vulnificus, a type of flesh-eating bacterium, that had killed him. The Memphis Baptist Hospital has sent the results to the Shelby County Health Department in Tennessee, which plans to send them to the Okaloosa County Health Department, Wiygul said.
Wiygul said she cried for two days after hearing of her father's death, while she and her family were traveling to Memphis by car.
"I should never have let him swim with a compromised immune system," Wiygul said.
"I feel stupid now. I do not want it.
Her 3-year-old daughter had a cut in her leg and her mother had a cat scratch on her chest, but both had been sealed with a liquid bandage.
Cutting and weakness of the immune system can both lead to a flesh-eating bacterium, also called necrotizing fasciitis. The serious bacterial infection that destroys the subcutaneous tissue is rare, with less than 20,000 cases a year in the United States. Vibrio cases are even rarer, with around 100 cases a year.
Wiygul's 65-year-old mother, who works at a bank, planned to retire a week after the tragedy.
"She is angry at the situation," said Wiygul. She said, "Now I'm going to retire and I do not have it anymore. "
Wiygul said she would like posters to be placed on local beaches to warn swimmers with cuts or weak immune systems to not enter the water.
"He was really healthy and had a good attitude," Wiygul said. "Nothing could be badly said about him. It was a really kind and good person.
Wiygul gathered through old photos of his father, with his brothers and sisters, a "happy memorial". Something he would like to have. The memorial in honor of Bennett is scheduled for Saturday, July 20 at noon at Renewal Church in Memphis, where his family is.
At the same time, Wiygul said that she wanted people to continue enjoying beaches but are wary of flesh-eating bacteria.
"I'm not trying to divert tourism," she said. "I'm going back to the water. It will be just a little before I can do it. "
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