Florida Man Dies of Bacterial Infection After Crabbing in River

Florida health officials have warned beach-goers to avoid wading into the water with open wounds and eating raw or undercooked seafood after a man died of a bacterial infection hours after crabbing. Henry "Butch" Konietzky, 59, was crabbing in Halifax River when he was exposed to vibrio vulnificus, a bacterium normally found in warm seawater, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. "I am actually really shocked," nearby resident Kamryn Eversole told WFTV, ABC News' affiliate in Orlando and Daytona Beach, Fla. "I'm in this water all the time and I guess I would have been more careful if I had known this earlier." Read about 7 foods most likely to make you sick. The bacteria causes blood infections in people who go into the water with open wounds or who eat raw or undercooked seafood, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. More than 70 percent of people who become infected have "distinctive bulbous skin lesions," and about half of vibrio vulnificus infections are fatal. In Konietzky's case, he became infected when he waded out into the water with open wounds, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. His daughter told the newspaper that Konietzky had lesions on his legs a few hours after crabbing, prompting his wife to take him to the hospital. But it was too late and he died hours later of kidney failure. There have been 26 cases of vibrio vulnificus statewide this year, including nine deaths, according to WFTV.

Soon to be Bride gets her final wish.

A wedding planner will make a final dream come true for a San Jose bride this Saturday.

Jen Bulik and her boyfriend, Jeff Lang, were looking at wedding rings in December when Bulik developed a cough she couldn't shake. 

"I went to the doctors a couple times and they diagnosed me with pneumonia," she told NBC Bay Area. "I mean, I'm 35, so they weren't thinking it was something else."

But in January, Bulik was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. In June, she was told she had four to six months to live.

"When I heard that, I said, 'Let's get married,'" said Bulik. "Because I wanted to focus on life." 

Bulik and Lang planned a simple backyard barbecue until a friend logged on to a message board for wedding planners and posted their story, asking for a miracle. That's when local planner Erica Ota stepped in.

"Honestly, I didn't event think twice about it," Ota told HuffPost. "We have the opportunity to do something extraordinary for someone else almost every day, but we get so wrapped up in our daily lives that we don't see them. I wanted to do something extraordinary." 

And extraordinary it is: After seeing Bulik's dream wedding inspiration Pinterest board, Ota used her connections to get her entire dream wedding donated –- all $52,000 of it.

"We have 40 different vendors participating," she said. "As soon as I reached out with their story, people were so willing to help."

Wedding details will include a photo booth, a taco station and barbecue, a New Orleans-style jazz band, floral arrangements and more. And everything was planned while Bulik was in the hospital. 

"I was in awe," Bulik told HuffPost. "The bouquets just arrived this morning and it's exactly what I put on Pinterest. It is unbelievable that people have stepped up and done this. It's magical."

Bulik and Lang will say vows at a park down the street from Bulik's childhood home, surrounded by a circle of friends and family. After that, the jazz band will lead the party back to her parents' home.

"All of the neighbors know about the plan so they're turning the street into a parade route," said Ota. "Everyone's putting out balloons and decorations."

"I could never have done this with my health," she said. "But because of the generosity of others, we're going to be able to focus on declaring our love for one another in a way we never dreamed possible."

The upcoming wedding has reminded Ota why she's in the business. 

"It will be one of the most fun weddings I've done in a long time because it's all about celebrating life and love," Bulik said. "And that's really what it's all about."  Via Huffingtonpost