New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashesNew leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
NORTH NAPLES Grant Thornton Invitational returns to Tiburon Golf Club Stars on the PGA and LPGA Tours are back in Southwest Florida for the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club.
FORT MYERS Black Flag brings classic punk energy to The Ranch in Fort Myers Legendary punk band Black Flag made their mark in Southwest Florida during the Fort Myers stop of their “First Four Years” tour.
Charlotte Technical College breaks ground on aviation facility The Charlotte County School District is flying high and keeping its “Space Academy” designation with a new aviation training facility for students.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested in connection with Cape Coral home invasion The Cape Coral Police Department has announced the arrest of one of three men suspected in a home invasion that took place earlier this month.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral residents react to $100M North Cape land deal The city of Cape Coral is seeing two projects that will change the city. One is called one of the most lucrative deals in county history.
Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association breaks ground on new Fort Myers headquarters As Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association’s president pointed out, about 1,000 people are still moving to Florida every day, and many of them are finding their way to Southwest Florida.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte County drug trafficker sentenced to 10 years A Charlotte County man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking.
lehigh acres ‘How to sign away parental rights?’; Lehigh Acres woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
NORTH NAPLES Grant Thornton Invitational returns to Tiburon Golf Club Stars on the PGA and LPGA Tours are back in Southwest Florida for the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club.
FORT MYERS Black Flag brings classic punk energy to The Ranch in Fort Myers Legendary punk band Black Flag made their mark in Southwest Florida during the Fort Myers stop of their “First Four Years” tour.
Charlotte Technical College breaks ground on aviation facility The Charlotte County School District is flying high and keeping its “Space Academy” designation with a new aviation training facility for students.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested in connection with Cape Coral home invasion The Cape Coral Police Department has announced the arrest of one of three men suspected in a home invasion that took place earlier this month.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral residents react to $100M North Cape land deal The city of Cape Coral is seeing two projects that will change the city. One is called one of the most lucrative deals in county history.
Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association breaks ground on new Fort Myers headquarters As Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association’s president pointed out, about 1,000 people are still moving to Florida every day, and many of them are finding their way to Southwest Florida.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte County drug trafficker sentenced to 10 years A Charlotte County man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking.
lehigh acres ‘How to sign away parental rights?’; Lehigh Acres woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby.
In this Aug. 2, 2018 file photo provided by Dawn Manteufel, Greg Manteufel lays in his hospital bed at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. He lost parts of his arms and legs, as well as the skin of his nose and part of his upper lip from capnocytophaga, a bacteria commonly found in the saliva of cats and dogs which almost never leads to people getting sick, unless the person has a compromised immune system. Manteufel was perfectly healthy when he got sick in June of 2018. Over the last seven years, a team of researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, connected to Harvard Medical School, have tested other healthy people who were affected and developed a theory on why they were affected- a gene change in all the victims. (Dawn Manteufel via AP) It’s hard to regard Ellie as a menace. When Greg Manteufel is frustrated or feeling down, she sits by him. At night, she sleeps under his covers. At dinner, she’s there next to him, knowing he’ll throw something her way. She belies the stereotype of the vicious pit bull. “We love her like she’s our daughter,” he said of the dog. And yet, Ellie may be the reason Manteufel, 49, nearly died. Gravely ill, he lost parts of his arms and legs, as well as the skin of his nose and part of his upper lip. The cause was capnocytophaga (cap-noh-seye-TOE’-fah-gah), a germ from Ellie’s mouth or from another dog he encountered. Capnocytophaga is commonly found in the saliva of cats and dogs and almost never leads to people getting sick, unless the person has a compromised immune system. But Manteufel was perfectly healthy. In fact, he doesn’t think he’d ever used his health insurance before he fell ill. The case is extremely rare and doctors at his hospital, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, had no explanation for why he got so sick. But over the last 10 years there have been at least five other healthy people who have had severe reactions to the germ. A team of researchers connected with Harvard Medical School has developed a theory on why — a gene change in all the victims. And their finding means doctors can’t rule out the capnocytophaga bacteria could strike Manteufel and other victims again. ___ Greg Manteufel thought he was getting the flu in June of 2018. He had a fever, vomiting and diarrhea. But when he started getting confused, his family took him to the hospital. Doctors did blood cultures and found capnocytophaga, which caused sepsis, a severe blood infection that led to his blood pressure dropping and many of his organs shutting down. “Do what you have to, to keep me alive,” he told the doctors. He had so much to live for — foremost, his wife of 16 years, Dawn, and 26-year-old son, Mike. He was just starting to get really good at his day job, painting houses. He cherished his Harley Davidson Electra Glide. He was in the middle of fixing up his ’66 El Camino. And of course there was Ellie, the pup. Greg Manteufel pets his dog Ellie at his home in West Bend, Wisconsin (AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger) And so he persisted, through more than 20 surgeries, including amputations of his left and right arms just below the elbow, and legs through the middle of the knee. His wife and son stayed optimistic, because he was. “Greg said he didn’t come this far to lay down and let this beat him,” Dawn Manteufel said. He was out of the in-patient rehab unit in about two weeks, learning to move from his wheelchair to the bed, toilet and car. The usual stay is three to four weeks, said Dr. David Del Toro, medical director for the inpatient rehab unit at Froedtert. Manteufel made similar quick advances using his arm prosthetics and leg prosthetics. “He does not seem like any other patient I’ve met before,” Del Toro said. “He’s just, you know, full speed ahead.” Greg Manteufel tries out a new prosthetic arm during occupational therapy as he talks to Dr. David Del Toro (AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger) Meanwhile, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, connected to Harvard Medical School, as well as Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center had been investigating cases like his. The team has done genetic testing on five otherwise healthy people who suffered capnocytophaga infections to see if they could find anything in common. They discovered all had a gene connected to the immune system that was working differently — a genetic variant. “It was a really thrilling moment,” said Elizabeth Fieg, a genetic counselor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “The stakes are so high with these cases and the patients have gone through so much.” They believe it makes those people more susceptible to developing severe medical problems from capnocytophaga. But they are also trying to determine if there are other risk factors. Of the five in the study, three survived with amputations and two did not. Fieg hopes their research can determine why some did not survive. She also hopes if their theory is confirmed, it will help diagnose cases faster, and perhaps save lives and limbs. That’s why Greg Manteufel jumped at the chance to take part when he was approached in August. Researchers need to gather more evidence, but hope to publish their study in the next year to 18 months. ___ Manteufel’s life now includes frequent occupational therapy appointments to perfect his use of arm prosthetics — the kind with metal moveable hooks at the end. He’s using a fork regularly and he’s now working on picking up the TV remote, opening doorknobs, cutting vegetables and doing the dishes. He’s using shortened leg prosthetics, called stubbies, to get his body conditioned to eventually use to full-sized ones. Those are expected to arrive any day. Greg Manteufel tries out a new prosthetic arm during occupational therapy as his wife Dawn Manteufel reads paperwork in the background (AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger) Plastic surgeons plan another surgery to perfect his nose. They’ve already moved skin from his forehead there. It looks oversized now, but it will eventually fit in with the rest of his face. He plans to get his car revamped so he can drive with prosthetics. He wants to get a special pole so he can go fishing again. He is even considering going back to work painting. He’s also become less quiet and a lot more outgoing. “Now everybody I see wants to hear something or talk to me. I tell them a 15-minute story about what happened. They probably want me to leave, you know,” he said, chuckling. Ellie’s often by his side. “She loves kids. She loves puppies. Other dogs,” Manteufel said. Greg Manteufel takes his dog Ellie from his wife Dawn Manteufel at their home in West Bend, Wisconsin (AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger) As harmless as she seems, she may have capnocytophaga germ. The results of Manteufel’s genetic tests are expected in three to four months. Fieg said people with the gene variant are at increased risk for recurrent capnocytophaga or other infections in the future. While Manteufel doesn’t like the sound of that, he said Ellie’s accidentally scratched him since he’s been home and even licked his mouth. He’s been fine. And even if he does have the gene variant, he said, it changes nothing. “We didn’t even bother testing her,” said Manteufel. “We weren’t going to get rid of her if it was her that caused it anyway.” “We just love her to death.”