Dangers lurk among the wreckage left by Hurricane Ian
Visitors to the beach are encountering unexpected risks in the sea as Hurricane Ian’s effects are still being felt.
Brady Williamson, a regular beachgoer and the “Beach Boy” at Naples’ Lowdermilk Park, had two harrowing encounters with hurricane Ian’s debris in the past month alone, according to a recent article by Ryan Arbogast of NBC2.
“I stumbled into a table in the water”. Brady remembered, “It was a little circular table, one of those outdoor ones you put metal seats around.” Deep cuts on his foot, calf, and wrist were caused by the table’s rusty and barnacle-covered surface.
“At first, I questioned what that was. I was bleeding in the water, so I could already tell I was cut,” he continued.
Williamson found another piece of Hurricane Ian-related debris while “stingray-shuffling” along the beach a few weeks after he had recovered from the table-related cuts.
“I just kicked something, and as I shuffled, it went under my toe. My initial instinct was to lift my foot, but it didn’t do so. For a little while, my foot just got caught there,” Williamson recalled.
His foot was pierced by a tiny piece of metal that Williamson thinks to be a fragment of a wire barbecue brush. The sophomore college student required surgery at NCH North Naples due to the severity of the injuries. He is currently healing at home and is metal-free.
“Who knows how many more are out there? Just happy to get out of the water,” Brady expressed, highlighting the hidden dangers lurking beneath the waves.
Prior to Hurricane Ian, Lon Warrenfeltz was the victim of a lethal threat in the waters of Lowdermilk Park, which was another terrifying episode.
Immediately after swimming, Lon experienced excruciating agony in his ankle and foot despite having no obvious cuts or open wounds.
“My ankle and foot started swelling and hurting so bad I had to go sit in the car,” he recalled.
He sought immediate medical help because of the agony, and was later identified as having “Harvey I,” a rare and aggressive form of Vibrio called Vibrio Vulnificus. It was an infection caused by Harvey I. It’s extremely rare and risky. They don’t survive within 2 days of exhibiting symptoms, Lon stated, showing the seriousness of the sickness.
According to the Florida Department of Health in Collier County, 32 people tested positive for the flesh-eating bacterium in 2022 during the height of Hurricane Ian’s aftermath in Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties. Numbers drastically decreased in 2023, with few instances reported throughout SWFL.
The naturally occurring bacteria thrive in warm, brackish water and are known to proliferate in nutrient-rich conditions in the Gulf of Mexico, frequently in runoff circumstances.
“It was without a doubt the one for which I was least prepared. “I had no idea what was going on,” admitted Warrenfeltz.
He stayed in the hospital for 11 days, and it took him almost three months to fully recover. Due to the increased risk of reinfection following the initial incidence, he has now been advised to stay away from the beach and the water.
According to Warrenfeltz, that was the worst pain he had ever experienced.
There are currently no swim advisories in Collier County despite both sets of incidents.
All beaches are free of enterococci bacteria, according to the Florida Department of Health’s water testing program in Collier County, but they don’t test for Vibrio Vulnificus.
On June 29, the Florida Department of Emergency Management proclaimed Collier County’s waters to be “debris-free.”
There are no red tide blooms in our region, according to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission.
“For this to all happen in one short period of time after a Hurricane, it just shows there’s so much stuff in the water that’s dangerous,” said Williamson.
The original article can be found on NBC2