PANA CITY, FL (WMBB) – The Panama City family is dealing with the death of a family who signed up with Vibrio vulnificus, also known as a meat-eating bacteria. Alan Kidd, 78, passed away on Sunday.
He is the fifth person to die of a Florida illness this year, and the second person is from Bay County.
“He was the best. He was all about family. He was all about giving. He was a really good guy,” said Susan McNiel, Alan’s daughter.
Kidd joined the family for his annual summer trip to St. George Island. On July 15th, some of them were fishing on the bay side of St. George Island, near the state park.
This year marks the fifth person to die of carnivorous bacteria in Florida.
“We were fishing that morning, and he had this little cut on his legs, and I did. And I couldn’t do anything. We were all in the water. It was really warm that day, but we didn’t think about it, but the next morning he woke up like cold and fever.
Initially, Kid was treated with antibiotics. As his condition deteriorated, EMS decided to actively light him up on Ascension Sacred Heart Bay.
The bad weather discarded the flight and ended up being a two-hour ambulance trip. Macniel says his father’s condition quickly deteriorated.
“When they finally brought us back, the nurse was just telling me, can you tell me what happened to me? He had this big, huge legs at that point.
The ER staff were suspicious of Vibrio vulnificus. Kidd went straight for surgery to remove infected skin from his knees to his ankles.
“The next morning they were amputated under his knee. It was still spreading. And what it did was just following his vein on his leg. So they removed the vein from his gro diameter. They removed the large main vein.”
Kidd had five surgeries and spent two weeks in the ICU.
“He was doing really well. I think the whole infection really affected his heart. I think he had a heart attack on Sunday night,” McNeill said.
Alan Kidd passed away just after midnight on Monday morning, August 4th. He and his wife, Cathy, celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary on Sunday, August 3rd.
The couple had two daughters. Alan was a retired aerospace engineer, painter and fisherman. He was active in a member of the Catholic Church of St. John and the crew of St. Andrews.
His family is scheduled to return to St. George’s Island next summer. They also hope to raise awareness about the dangers of carnivorous bacteria by sharing stories.
“You just don’t think it’s going to happen to you. You really aren’t. He’s everything about our hero,” Macniel said.
