A Florida mother who lost much of her lower leg to flesh-eating bacteria is warning beachgoers to stay out of the water with any open wound.
Genevieve Gallagher, from Pensacola, Florida, was enjoying a family boat day in July 2025 when she went swimming with a small cut on her leg. Within days, the mother was rushed into emergency surgery as her body began shutting down from septic shock. She had contracted Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterium commonly called “flesh-eating” bacteria for the way it destroys skin tissue around the point of infection.
Speaking to Fox 35 Orlando in August 2026, Gallagher described the rapid deterioration of her condition. “Every organ in my body began to fail. I went septic. I was intubated for six days, almost lost my life.”
The Florida Department of Health has recorded 15 cases of Vibrio vulnificus in the state so far this year, including two fatalities: a Marion County resident between ages 60 and 64, and a Brevard County resident between ages 10 and 14. The bacteria naturally occurs in warm coastal waters, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says most infections happen after eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters. But people with open wounds, fresh tattoos or piercings are also at risk if they enter contaminated water.
Symptoms can start out looking like a stomach bug, including fever, vomiting, cramping and diarrhea. In more severe cases, the bacteria begins killing the skin surrounding an open wound, and the only way to stop it spreading is to surgically remove the affected tissue, which frequently results in amputation.
After being placed on a ventilator for six days and going into septic shock, Gallagher woke to discover a significant portion of her lower leg was gone. She told Fox 35, “I woke up and a lot of my leg was missing at the bottom.”
Gallagher is now urging people to think twice before swimming with any kind of open wound, no matter how small it might seem. “If you have any open cuts at all, like mosquito bites that are open you’ve scratched. Do not shave the night before you go in the water,” she told Fox 35. “Just anything. It’s so serious and you can get it. You can get it. So do not take that chance [with] your life.”
She added that, in hindsight, a beach day simply isn’t worth the risk.
Speaking to KKTV in August 2026 about the long-term impact of her infection, Gallagher described the toll it’s taken on her body. “This will turn your life upside-down,” she said. “I lost so much of my left leg below my kneecap; it’s unbelievable the amount of trauma I’ve been through.”
She’s since dedicated herself to raising awareness of the condition, hoping her experience will stop others from unknowingly putting themselves at risk.
In the viral moment that brought her story to national attention, Gallagher’s case emerged amid a broader spike in Vibrio infections along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Researchers at the University of Florida are currently developing an early warning system to predict high concentrations of the bacteria in coastal waters up to a month in advance. Climate change has been linked to the bacteria’s spread, with warming waters allowing Vibrio to thrive in regions previously too cold to support it. A 2023 study found the northern boundary of Vibrio vulnificus infections has moved north by roughly 30 miles per year since 1998, with projections suggesting the bacteria could inhabit every eastern coastal region of the United States by 2081.
Gallagher continues to share her story as health officials warn beachgoers to take precautions ahead of peak summer swimming season.