WARNING: Flesh-eating bacteria kills mom who cut leg on beach

A flesh-eating bacteria has claimed the life of an elderly Florida woman who reportedly got infected from a cut she got while at a beach near her home.

CNN reported that Lynn Fleming died two weeks after going to Anna Maria Island on June 14. Her son, Wade Fleming, said she suffered a three-quarter-inch cut on her left shin but reportedly felt no symptoms and spent the evening with friends and family.

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Wade said he went back to Pennsylvania the following day when his mother complained of pain to family. The cut got worse by the end of the weekend, prompting her to go to urgent care, where she received a tetanus shot and a prescription for an antibiotic, according to the news station.

By June 17, Lynn was hospitalized with necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating bacteria. She reportedly suffered two strokes and kidney failure despite undergoing multiple surgeries to treat the infection.

CNN reported that Lynn died Thursday after being taken off life support.

“It seems like a ‘Lifetime’ movie really,” Wade, who was with his mother when she died, told WTVT. “I can’t even believe it, that it’s really even happening. It’s just all happening so fast.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said an “accurate diagnosis, rapid antibiotic treatment, and prompt surgery” is integral in preventing necrotizing fasciitis from turning deadly. The agency explained that more than one type of bacteria can lead to necrotizing fasciitis and that it’s often contracted through cuts, insect bites, and burns.

“This is the place she loved,” the late woman’s daughter-in-law said of the beach. “She couldn’t wait to get down here and retire. She loved the ocean; she loved walking on the beach. Unfortunately, it’s place that took her life by freak accident.”

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[Featured image: Lynn Fleming/Facebook]