Eau Claire man speaks out about battling flesh eating bacteria
Eau Claire, Wis. (WEAU) -- Chase Seibel is wearing wounds on his arm that will now be a permanent reminder of what happened one weekend in July.
"It felt like I broke my arm, that's what the main pain was," Seibel said.
He spent part of the weekend swimming in the river. Later, he got a cut on his arm. And at some point by Monday, had clearly become infected with something.
"When I went back to the doctor on Monday, my arm just blew up, didn't look like a normal arm," Seibel said.
He says the doctors and nurses crowded around trying to figure out what was happening.
"All of the people in the hospital said it was the 3rd case they've seen in the hospital, in this area," he added.
He had symptoms of extreme pain and nausea. The rare Necrotizing Fascitis was taking a toll on Chase, and quick.
"It's is a rapidly spreading bacterial infection that can be serious even fatal," said Dr. Alicia Arnold, M.D., who is WEAU's Medical Correspondent.
She says what happens to those who come into contact with the disease does not follow its name to a tee.
"The disease does not actually eat your flesh, instead it causes rapid destruction of your tissue like skin and muscle," Dr. Arnold said.
That is what happened to Chase. He had six surgeries over 12 days.
"Since I had so many surgeries, I have no nerve endings in my arm anymore," he added.
It has been a long road since July, and now in recovery, the road gets even longer.
A benefit will be held for Chase this weekend. It is happening Saturday, August 18th from 8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at The Pickle in Eau Claire.
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