Hobie's Journey Back to Health

2020 has been hard enough for so many.  For Robert “Hobie” Demuth, his wife, Karen Demuth and family, it recently got even worse. If you haven’t heard offlesh eating bacteria you are about to learn.  Thank you for listening to his story. Hobie and Karen have always given so much to their friends and family. We are asking for your help in their time of need.

The first week of July, Hobie and Karen were celebrating Karen’s retirement from teaching with a week long overnight boating trip in the Chesapeake Bay with one of their sons, Jon and his family. At one point during the trip, Hobie took a tumble from the dock getting back on the boat and cut his shin. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. His shin was bandaged up and cleaned like a typical cut.

A couple days later, on July 10th, Hobie woke up to excruciating pain in his calf. He was running a fever, and that’s when Karen knew something else was going on.  They went to the emergency room in Delaware because that was the closest hospital on their way home to Syracuse, New York. Initially, he was evaluated for cellulitis.   All tests came back negative, and they were going to put him on an antibiotic regimen just in case and send him on his way.  As he was about to be discharged from the hospital, his blood pressure bottomed out and his leg started turning black.  Hobie was rushed into surgery to evaluate his leg to clean out the wound or amputate depending on the severity of the infection. In order to remove all of the bacteria, all tissue and flesh had to be be removed from Hobie’s leg mid thigh to ankle.  Hobie was put in a medically induced coma and placed on a ventilator so they could continue to take him in for surgery to check the wound and continue to clear out the infection. He became septic and was fighting for his life.  The fall into the brackish waters in the marina had allowed Vibrio vulnificans (flesh eating bacteria) into his wound and necrotized his leg.  Hobie underwent three surgeries at the hospital in  Delaware and each time, the doctors removed more tissue and flesh to eradicate the bacteria. He essentially was left with only muscle and bone on the lower half of the leg.

In order to recover from this type of wound and illness, Hobie needed to be in a Trauma 1 unit that had access to a hyperbaric chamber and excellent reconstructive surgeons. It was identified that UPenn had a good program and also had a spot open for Hobie. Still in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator, Hobie was airlifted from Delaware to the Hospital of UPenn in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - miles away from his hometown of Syracuse, New York. Over a week after arriving at UPenn, he was slowly brought out of the coma and they successfully removed the ventilator. Since being at UPenn, he has undergone an additional 6 surgeries with dozens more in the future. There is no time estimate on when he will be able to relocate back to Syracuse, New York. Recovery from this type of bacteria can take a long time with significant medical expenses for reconstructive surgery and therapy. Instead of celebrating their retirement together, Karen has relocated to Philadelphia and with no family or friends nearby, has had to find living accommodations for the unforeseeable future.

We are asking for financial support to help cover their housing costs, medical bills, travel expenses, and anything that they might need support with as the upcoming months are unknown. While things are moving in the right direction and Hobie is getting stronger each day, we thank you in advance for your support and prayers. 

God Bless.

Christmas 2018Grandpa & Carson  
Hobie & his daughter, Jessica 
Hobie & his son Justin & Jill’s  Wedding 2019
Karen & Hobie with their grandson, Jordy 
Christmas 2019Summer 2020
Justin & Jill’s engagement 
Hobie & his daughter Julia 
Karen & Hobie with their grandson Carson 
July 4, 2020 with grandchildren Brady & Adabelle 
Hobie & his mom, Nan Demuth Hobie with his daughter, Missy and father, Ray
Hobie and his sons at Justin’s wedding: Jon, Justin, Hobie & Dave 
Christmas 2019 
Hobie with his granddaughter, Baylor 
Hobie & his granddaughter Adabelle 
Hobie with his son, Justin, and youngest daughter Missy who passed away August 2015 
Hobie & Karen at Justin & Jill’s wedding 2019