Florida woman goes swimming. Then she wakes up missing ‘a lot’ of her leg. Here’s her warning: ‘You can get it’

A Florida woman is warning swimmers about Vibrio vulnificus after a small cut exposed her to the potentially deadly bacteria and led to extensive tissue loss in her leg. Genevieve Gallagher, a Pensacola mother, contracted Vibrio vulnificus after swimming with a cut on her leg during a family boating outing in July 2025, according to interviews she gave to news outlets. Her condition deteriorated rapidly, and she eventually developed sepsis and organ failure, requiring emergency surgery.

Warning: Disturbing imagery to follow

Gallagher recently revisited the ordeal in an interview with Florida news outlet FOX 35. She recalled waking up after surgery and realizing the extent of the damage. “I woke up, and a lot of my leg was missing at the bottom,” Gallagher told the station.

The infection began after Gallagher went swimming with a small cut on her left leg. She told ABC News that she covered the wound with a waterproof bandage before entering the water. After the outing, she said she rinsed the area with fresh water and initially felt fine. Several days later, however, her leg became hot and swollen.

Gallagher said the infection progressed quickly.

After that, she described swelling, discoloration, and fluid-filled areas on her leg. Doctors eventually removed skin and a significant amount of muscle from below her knee as they worked to control the infection. She also spent several days intubated while dealing with septic shock and organ failure, according to her interviews.

Now Gallagher wants people to understand that a seemingly minor break in the skin can create a serious risk in coastal water. “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.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says Vibrio bacteria naturally live in coastal waters, including saltwater and brackish water. Levels tend to increase between May and October as water temperatures rise.

People can develop Vibrio vulnificus infections when an open wound comes into contact with contaminated water. The bacteria can also cause illness when someone eats raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters.

The CDC estimates that about 150 to 200 Vibrio vulnificus infections are reported in the United States each year. About one in five people with the infection dies, sometimes within one or two days of becoming ill. Like Gallagher’s case, severe infections can require intensive care or limb amputation.

Florida continues to report cases. The Florida Department of Health‘s most recently posted table lists 12 confirmed Vibrio vulnificus cases and one death in the state for 2026 as of July 30. “It’s so serious, and you can get it. You can get it. So do not take that chance [with] your life,” Gallagher said.