Montco Man Battles Flesh Eating Bacteria Infection

NORTH WALES, PA — A Montgomery County man has been diagnosed with a flesh eating bacterial infection that doctors say is extremely rare, his friends and family said.

North Wales resident Peter Atkinson was taken to Doylestown Hospital on Dec. 23 after suffering from a severe fever. Doctors immediately noticed something was seriously wrong, placed him on a ventilator, and conducted emergency surgery, according to a GoFundMe launched to support his medical care.

That's when he was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, which the Centers for Disease Control says infects only about 700 to 1,200 individuals nationwide each year.

Atkinson went into sepsis and had to be placed on dialysis.

"The situation was critical, and doctors were not initially optimistic about his chances," family friend John DeSantis wrote in the fundraiser. "If Pete hadn’t gone to the hospital when he did, he might not have survived."

Atkinson told 6ABC he just felt very sick from the fever, and noticed a "mass" on his chest, but had no idea what was wrong with him.

Since Christmas, friends say Atkinson has been steadily improving, and he's been removed from the ventilator and is breathing on his own. But he faces a potentially very difficult recovery.

"While doctors believe he will recover, it will be a long and difficult road ahead," DeSantis adds.

The bacteria that causes necrotizing fasciitis is actually fairly common in the environment and is even found on the human body, usually in the nostrils, the CDC says. The problem arises when that bacteria penetrates deep into tissue inside the body, usually through a cut or a burn, and is not stopped by the immune system. Those with weakened immune systems are at far greater risk, even though chances of infection are still very low.

Atkinson, who owns and operates Rescue Recovery and Towing in North Wales, is unable to work for the foreseeable future. The GoFundMe will support both his medical bills and his family while he is hospitalized.

To donate or to learn more, see here.