I contracted a flesh-eating disease and had to get chunks of flesh removed from my body after eating shrimp dish

Lacey Pepper at first thought nothing of the ache in her legs.

In April 2024, the Mississippi mother-of-three and her family were in the middle of a 16-hour road trip when the pain set in, and she thought it was from not getting out enough to stretch. 

But once they checked in to their destination, Pepper was immediately blindsided by flu-like symptoms, including violent vomiting.

She spent the next day hardly able to move due, with a fever and intense shakes. 

‘I went to go for a bath, [and] my daughter looked at me and said, “What is wrong with your leg?”‘ Pepper, now 47, said. 

Her left leg had become covered in bright red, blister-like spots, and when the searing pain became too much to bear, she went to see a doctor. 

‘I would not wish that pain on anyone,’ she said.  

Primary care doctors urged Pepper to immediately go to the hospital, where she was rushed into emergency surgery for a deadly flesh-eating bacteria. 

Lacey Pepper (pictured with her partner Adam) believes she contracted flesh-eating bacteria after eating undercooked shrimp on a trip

‘I remember going to get a CT scan and I don’t remember anything after that,’ Pepper said. 

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‘I’ve been told that the doctor said it wasn’t looking good [and that] I might not live. I might lose my leg and I might die.’

Pepper was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, a severe bacterial infection that destroys tissues beneath the skin and rapidly ravages the body. 

The bacteria – often Group A Streptococcus or Staphylococcus aureus – typically infiltrate the bloodstream through open wounds such as cuts or scrapes. 

However, Pepper claimed she had no cuts on her body and instead suspected she may have been sickened by shellfish she had eaten days earlier.

Undercooked shellfish can carry the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus, another common cause of necrotizing fasciitis. 

Vibrio vulnificus also thrives in warm, coastal waters.

‘I remember when [doctors] told me thinking, “Where did I get this from?” I don’t get in water. I don’t even swim,’ Pepper said. 

‘I ate some shrimp while I was in Maryland with my boyfriend a week before I fell ill. You can get necrotizing fasciitis from shellfish, but it could’ve been from anything.’

Vibrio vulnificus kills, on average, 20 percent of its victims, though in people with compromised immune systems, that figure jumps to at least 30 percent.

In severe cases, when it causes sepsis or necrotizing fasciitis, the risk of death climbs to 70 percent. 

Pepper is pictured above in the hospital (left) with her sister Stephanie. She was rushed into emergency surgery to remove skin from her left leg, buttock and genitals

Pictured in the above images is Pepper’s leg after undergoing a skin graft. She had 17 surgeries after suffering necrotizing fasciitis

About 80 percent of people who become infected contract it from seawater, while 20 percent of infections are caused by consumption of raw seafood.

Roughly 700 to 1,300 Americans suffer necrotizing fasciitis every year, CDC data shows. 

Health authorities recommend steering clear of water with open wounds and avoiding eating undercooked shellfish of any kind to prevent necrotizing fasciitis.  

Pepper underwent emergency surgery to remove dead flesh from various parts of her body, losing 25 percent of her left buttock, 25 percent of her upper thigh and 50 percent of the left side of her genitals.

Then, she was flown to another hospital, where she was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). 

Now 47, Pepper has had to relearn how to walk due to losing muscle and tissue around her leg

Over the next two months, she had a total of 17 operations to rebuild the skin on her leg. She spent 28 days in the hospital and another month in a rehabilitation center.

The ordeal also forced Pepper to relearn how to walk, as losing muscle and soft tissue made her leg unstable. Two years later, she deals with massive scarring and needs a cane to walk. 

Now, she is encouraging others to seek medical care immediately for unusual skin changes.  

‘I never had any health problems before this,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I’m very particular about everything I do now.

‘If you get a boil or anything you’re concerned about, just go to the doctors.’