Woman has close call with flesh eating bacteria on Galveston Island

GALVESTON, TX (KTRK) -- Michelle O'Brien, 30, visited the beach last Saturday on Galveston Island. She says she cut her foot on an old oyster bed. It even cut through her hiking boot.

Despite getting immediate medical attention and stitches for her cut, hours later O'Brien was back in the emergency room. She says her body was in septic shock.

"I was told I got there just in the nick of time," O'Brien said.

Doctors told her she was infected with Vibrio Vulnificus, a flesh-eating bacteria found in warm salt water. The bacteria, if not treated quickly, can be fatal.

"This is a very severe and life-threatening infection that rapidly progresses," said Dr. Luis Ostrosky, medical director of infection control at Memorial Hermann Hospital.

Doctors say you can also get this infection by eating raw seafood that is contaminated.

O'Brien was released from the hospital Thursday after spending several days in the ICU.

"I definitely feel that someone is looking out for me," she said.