Jeanette LeBlanc didn't know her trip to Louisiana will cost her, her life. The 55-year old from Texas had a seafood feast with friends and family and contracted flesh-eating bacteria from her oysters. LeBlanc fought hard for her life to fight off the deadly flesh-eating bacteria but lost her battle 21 days later in the hospital. Remembering her wife, Vicki, 60, said, "I just try to take it one day at a time. I’ve still been in Louisiana caring for her parents, and being around them, we’re all kind of grieving together. Looking at this bigger picture of being able to give and do for them and to finish out what Nette started has really been a good thing to keep me from focusing on myself and my sadness. It’s really helped me to be able to look forward."
Texas Woman Dies From Flesh-Eating Bacteria After Eating Raw Oysters
Fun Trip Turned Deadly
Jeanette-LeBlanc of Texas was visiting friends and family in Louisiana. On their trip, LeBlanc decided to meet up the family members on a crab excursion. They spent a day having fun. On their way back home LeBlanc and two others bought oysters from a market in Westwego.
Scraped While Shucking The Oysters
The couple were then joined by other family members to eat. LeBlanc and her stepdaughter, Jennifer Bergquist prepared oysters for everyone. According to Bergquist, LeBlanc suffered a small scrape while shucking the oysters. Also, Bergquist says, her mother ate the most among the others and no one else got sick.
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Maybe A Simple Allergic Reaction?
Vicki Bergquist, LeBlanc's wife says, two days later her wife started having respiratory problems and a severe rash emerged on her body. "She was really in bad shape. She was having extreme respiratory distress and her lower legs had broken out in a rash." She was then transferred to Baton Rouge hospital, the doctors at the hospital initially assumed that LeBlanc was suffering from an allergic reaction.
Little did they know LeBlanc had contracted a deadly bacteria.
"Flesh Eating Bacteria"
After doing several tests, doctors discovered LeBlanc had contracted a deadly bacteria "vibrio." According to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention, the bacteria is commonly known as a flesh-eating bacteria that people contract after eating raw or contaminated seafood or exposing wounds to seawater.
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She Knew She Wouldn't Survive
Doctors then informed LeBlanc that she ate oysters which contained the deadly bacteria. LeBlanc fought hard for her life for 21 days in the hospital where she underwent a number of surgeries. Vicki says that her wife knew she won't survive, "She knew she was dying. She understood what was happening to her. One day, she said something like, ‘I’m gonna die today. She had more worse days than better days."
Losing Her Was The Hardest
The couple got married in February 2016 after 8 years of dating. Talking about her lost partner, Vicki said, "I’m a very optimistic person, so I kept thinking that she was gonna make it. She was such a fighter through the whole entire process. Losing her was the hardest part. We spent every day together. We had such a good life together. She knew how much I loved her. She was very outspoken and I’m a marshmallow … she would always just say it like it was. She was fun and everybody enjoyed being around her. It’s hard finding somebody you’re never bored with, that you can be with 24/7 and just enjoy their company. That part is hard. It’s hard to find somebody that has your back."
