Within three days of being rushed by ambulance to the hospital Aug. 2, a 42-year-old Burlington man was gone, succumbing to the rare but ruthless, rapidly spreading flesh-eating disease.

Somehow the deadly bacteria, also known as necrotizing fasciitis, surreptitiously invaded Corey Witkowski’s body, and a young family was suddenly without a husband and father.

Since 2015, there have been only five cases of flesh-eating disease recorded in Halton. Health Canada estimates there are between 90 and 200 cases each year in Canada. Early recognition of symptoms and early treatment are critical.

Witkowski was experiencing flu-like symptoms — fever and vomiting — for several days before awakening in the night with severe back pain that landed him in Joseph Brant Hospital’s ICU. Tests showed he had Streptococcus anginosus (Strep A). Further diagnosis revealed the source of the father of two’s back pain was necrotizing fasciitis.

“Corey had suffered from a very bad case of eczema for most of his adult life, and he brushed off the pain and the wound as being one of his sore spots from his eczema,” said Corey’s best friend, Derek Boyce.

In the end, his organs and vital systems failed, and he passed away Aug. 5.

“The entire staff of the intensive care unit were nothing short of amazing during Corey’s short stay. They did everything they could to keep Corey alive for (his wife) Amanda and the girls, but ultimately this rare disease could not be defeated,” said Boyce.

Corey was the type of person who lived life to the fullest and would do anything to help others in need, said Boyce.

“Anyone who was privileged enough to know Corey would tell you that he was kind, funny, caring and had an extremely magnetic personality.”

You may not recognize the name, but chances are Witkowski indirectly helped you or this community through his association with the 3,000-plus member Burlington Dads, a “strong base of dads who have jumped at the chance to help out in the community when they see a need,” said Mark Little, an administrator with the organization.

Dads were out in full force last Saturday to honour their friend and fellow member by enjoying a beer in their driveway.

The #drivewaybeersforCorey campaign was initiated after Little discovered this was one of the ways Witkowski enjoyed the company of friends and neighbours.

“This epitomized one of the main aspects of our group … building relationships and helping our neighbours and community through social settings and getting to know your neighbours,” said Little.

Through the campaign, which also included lemonade stands operated by Dads’ children, more than $6,000 was raised for the Witkowski family,

“He was the type of guy that would drop everything to help others in need and loved the camaraderie of this group,” said Boyce. “It has been overwhelming the amount of community support that has come together for Corey, and it’s very poetic because that is exactly who he was — nothing was more important to Corey than his family and friends.”

Corey lived for his wife and his two little girls, Mckenzie, 8, and Madison, 5, said Boyce.

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“Everything he did, he did for them. He was their everything.”

A GoFundMe campaign has been established to help the family financially: gofundme.com/f/support-for-corey039s-girls

KY Kathy Yanchus is a veteran journalist who covers the Halton District School Board and general news in Halton.

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