Brian Roush, 62, was celebrating in the Bahamas with his girlfriend over New Year\u2019s, when he scraped his ankle<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
He became ill once he returned home to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and doctors immediately suspected necrotizing fasciitis, known as flesh-eating disease<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
He was given a 10% chance of survival<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
After scraping his ankle on vacation in the Bahamas, a Florida man ended up with a devastating case of the flesh-eating disease<\/a> \u2014 and doctors gave him just 10% chance of surviving.<\/p>\n Brian Roush, 62, had traveled to the islands over the New Year with his girlfriend, Tonia Buford Stinson, to celebrate recently moving in together. While there, he tripped and scraped his ankle, his daughter, Brittany Roush, told WFLA<\/a>. But it was a minor injury that didn\u2019t keep him from typical Bahamas activities,\u00a0like swimming with pigs and going on waterslides.<\/p>\n On the way home to Fort Lauderdale on Jan. 3, \u201che became violently ill. Within hours, he was admitted to a hospital in Ft Lauderdale for severe septic shock, was intubated, and placed on a ventilator,\u201d a GoFundMe<\/a> established by Brittany to help support Roush’s recovery, explains.<\/p>\n gofundme<\/p>\n The disease moved quickly. As Brittany told WFLA, \u201chis ankle erupted into blisters\u201d at the emergency room. Doctors immediately suspected necrotizing fasciitis<\/a> \u2014\u00a0commonly known as flesh-eating disease \u2014 which causes tissue to die immediately.<\/p>\n Her father was rushed into emergency surgery, where doctors removed the diseased tissue, but at this point, he\u2019d gone into sepsis<\/a>, the potentially fatal immune response<\/a> to an infection.<\/p>\n \u201cSepsis was wreaking havoc. Brian\u2019s liver, kidneys, and lungs failed while he was in septic shock and he was placed in an induced coma on life support,\u201d the GoFundMe explains. \u201cHis ankle became gangrenous, and most of the flesh from his ankle to his lower calf had to be removed down to the bone.\u201d<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n Doctors had given him just 10% chance of surviving. But \u201cmiraculously, after a week of nonstop antibiotics and life support, he cleared the infection and his lungs and liver began to recover,\u201d the GoFundMe explains.<\/p>\n However, Roush is not in the clear, as he needs to be transferred to a long-term care facility to re-learn how to walk and use his limbs.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is doing his best to maintain a positive attitude despite waking up to this nightmare,\u201d the GoFundMe explains, joking about how he’s \u201clavishing compliments on the nursing staff so they keep the ice water flowing.\u201d<\/p>\n Necrotizing fasciitis is rare \u2014\u00a0but the steps you can take to minimize your chances of getting it are the same as you would to prevent any infection, Cleveland Clinic<\/a> explains. You should clean any wound with soap and water, and keep it covered with a clean bandage \u2014\u00a0and avoid swimming pools, hot tubs, or any bodies of water, like the ocean, with a break in your skin.<\/p>\n![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/9e93eab903d29eaf1348c8656f5b4e82.jpeg\"\/)
Brian Roush’s family is raising money for his ongoing care after doctors gave him a slim chance of survival. <\/p>\n