Man has all limbs amputated after contracting blood-infection from his dog's lick
A Wisconsin man has lost his hands and legs after he contracted a life-threatening bacterial infection after a dog licked him. The man Greg Manteuful had to have his limbs amputated after he got a blood infection.
According to doctors, he contracted the infection when a dog licked him. Manteuful's friend started a GoFundMe page for him where he described the motorcycle lover feeling sick on June 27. The post read, "Within hours of the onset of symptoms, Greg’s body started to go into septic shock. Once Greg was admitted to the hospital, they were able to confirm the reason Greg was septic."
Greg had been infected with a bacteria known as the 'Capnocytophaga Canimorsus' which is usually found in healthy dogs and cats. According to a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, it causes "severe sepsis and fatal septic shock, gangrene of the digits or extremities, high-grade bacteremia, meningitis, endocarditis, and eye infections," in case of a dog bite.
His wife Dawn told Fox 6 Now that the bacteria "hit him with a vengeance." "Just bruising all over him," she said regarding the blood spots that started to appear all over his body. "Looked like somebody beat him up with a baseball bat," she continued.
According to Greg's GoFundMe page, days after being admitted to the hospital the doctors had to amputate his feet. However, the damage was already too much, and Greg had to undergo a second surgery which amputated his legs up to his kneecaps. All his fingers down to his mid-palm were also surgically removed. The doctors informed his family that Greg's nose would be needing "extensive repairs" in order to rebuild it and that he will also be needing multiple other surgeries and lots of time to heal and get through his unfortunate ordeal.
Greg's wife Dawn told Washington Post that she was not sure which one of the dogs (the family owns eight dogs) had transmitted the bacteria to her dog-loving husband. She told the newspaper, "He loves dogs. He would touch any dog; he doesn’t care." Despite the fact that Greg lost his limbs, his determination to remain optimistic has been inspiring to all.
"He told the doctors, Do what you have to do to keep me alive," Dawn said. "There’s no negativity from him so far… He said, 'It is what it is, so we have to move forward. There’s no choice. We have no choice but to be positive and make the best of it," she continued. Greg's recovery process is going to be a long and difficult one, but he has his head held high and is hopeful he will get through it.