A father of three fulfilled his late girlfriend’s wish after surviving a fatal case of food poisoning. Billy LeBlanc woke up in July from a coma to the devastating news that his girlfriend, Natalie Clark, had died. Both had been infected with Vibrio vulnificus after eating raw oysters. LeBlanc has since decided to become a podcaster, which was Clark’s long-held wish.

After eating raw oysters over the summer, LeBlanc survived a serious bacterial infection, only to learn that his beloved one wasn’t so lucky.

Taking to his Instagram page on July 14, LeBlanc shared a carousel of photos taken with Clark.

He explained in the caption: “I’m sure none of you know but I recently almost died. I was in the hospital for 12 days.

A father of three fulfilled his late girlfriend’s wish after surviving a fatal case of food poisoning

Image credits: justbillyleblanc

“Unfortunately, Natalie didn’t make it and she passed away. I will always remember how we got lost everywhere together. 

“I will always love her and miss her.. Be safe and hold your loved ones tight you, never know when it’ll be the last time you see them.”

LeBlanc went on to post a follow-up Reel, confirming that Clark had died from food poisoning, as he revealed: “We ate oysters and we both felt sick for a couple of days and then I woke up and she was gone. 

Image credits: Cavan for Adobe/stock.adobe.com

“So I spent 12 days in the hospital and eight days in ICU. Actually I don’t remember much of it, I was pretty much out of it most of the time and I don’t know what to say. 

“I’m trying to figure my life out now and what’s next for me.”

On July 22, LeBlanc revealed through an Instagram Reel that, upon being released from the ICU (Intensive Care Unit), he had been put on a strict medication regimen, taking “five pills every day, some in the morning, some at night.”

Billy LeBlanc woke up from a coma in July to the devastating news that his girlfriend, Natalie Clark, had died

Image credits: justbillyleblanc

Last month, LeBlanc shared a final Reel, informing his 647,000 Instagram followers that he still struggles with some symptoms following his coma, including severe back pain.

The content creator has since shared updates via his Just Billy LeBlanc YouTube channel, which has amassed 209,000 subscribers.

On September 6, LeBlanc shared a YouTube video announcing that he was launching a podcast, a project that had been his late girlfriend’s wish.

 

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A post shared by Billy LeBlanc (@justbillyleblanc)

In the video, which was viewed by over 9,000 people, the YouTuber revealed: “One of the things Natalie always wanted me to do, and I, it’s not that I didn’t want to do it, it was just that she kept asking, and I kept making excuses not to do, was to do a podcast.”

LeBlanc explained that Clark had been convincing him to launch a podcast for months before she died and they had initially planned to do it together.

The YouTuber went on to read out several questions Clark was going to ask him in the first podcast, including “What made you attracted to me?”

Both had been infected with Vibrio vulnificus after eating raw oysters

Image credits: clarknat

At some point, he recalled: “We were very similar, we thought the same things were funny, we were both into things like the news and sports and we just… I thought she was smart and funny.”

LeBlanc became popular after sharing videos of his family on the account Bratayleys, where he was joined by his ex-wife Katie LeBlanc and their three children: Annie, Hayley, and Caleb, The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday (October 29).

Clark had a son of her own, Julian Clark, 17—an aspiring actor with his own YouTube channel.

Image credits: justbillyleblanc

Vibrio vulnificus is a type of bacteria that can cause a fatal infection, the Cleveland Clinic explains. 

You can be infected with the bacteria from eating uncooked or undercooked shellfish or when seawater enters a wound. 

Symptoms get worse quickly. They include fever, low blood pressure, and painful blisters.

LeBlanc has since decided to become a podcaster, which was Clark’s long-held wish

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Image credits: justbillyleblanc

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 65 percent of the 80,000 Vibrio cases reported each year were contracted from eating contaminated food. 

Around one in five people die from the infection, “sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill,” the CDC says. 

Because oysters feed by filtering water, Vibrio and other harmful germs can concentrate in an oyster’s tissues, Food Safety explains.

Image credits: justbillyleblanc

According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, if you eat raw or undercooked oysters, germs that might be in the oysters can make you sick.

Moreover, an oyster that contains Vibrio doesn’t look, smell, or even taste different from any other oyster. Nevertheless, you can kill Vibrio in oysters and other shellfish by cooking them properly.

“Fulfilling her wish is a beautiful way to keep her memory alive,” a reader commented

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