Channel 11 KHOU-TV, July 30, 2007 CRYSTAL BEACH - Fishermen frequent Crystal Beach, getting waist deep in the Gulf to cast lines for speckled trout. But Steve Gilpatrick, 58, caught something else while fishing ankle deep in the surf he never expected. The Nacogdoches man contracted vibrio vulnificus, better known as flesh eating bacteria, on July 8 through a cut on his leg. What happened next is frightening. In less than a day, the fast moving bacteria moved up his leg discoloring it and painfully destroying his skin. Blisters soon developed a half-inch thick. The 58-year-old diabetic almost lost his leg -- and nearly his life. "They were able to keep him away from total organ failure," Linda continued. "We were very close." Flesh-eating bacteria lives in the warm Gulf waters. People rarely are infected. The Texas Department of Health said it only records a couple dozen cases a year. Twelve so far in 2007, said TDH spokesman Doug McBride. In fact, experts believe the real number of flesh-eating bacteria cases is much higher. What's worrisome though is this warm water bacteria is now being discovered in cold water, in places like Alaska, Sweden and along the eastern seaboard. "There's no question the water temperatures are increasing," explained Dr. James Oliver, microbiologist, University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Gilpatrick is in stable condition in a second-floor care unit at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Doctors removed all the skin from his right leg and in five surgeries have started grafting new pieces on it.