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A standard dental appointment preceded a devastating health crisis for a Texas father of two, ultimately resulting in septic shock and a triple amputation.<\/p>\n
Davon Vanterpool, 34, visited his dentist for a routine visit on Dec. 29 and came home with his gums bleeding. <\/p>\n
His 31-year-old wife, Alicia Wilder, arrived home from running errands just 45 minutes later to find her husband in critical condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew everything was terribly wrong,\u201d Wilder recalled, according to People<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alicia Wilder described her husband, Davon Vanterpool, as a “gentle giant.”<\/p>\n She continued, \u201cHe was shaking and shivering uncontrollably. He said, \u2018I don\u2019t know what\u2019s wrong with me. I\u2019m so cold, and I can\u2019t stop shaking.\u2019 He was throwing up, and then he had diarrhea.\u201d<\/p>\n Get a First Look<\/p>\n Sign up to receive news and updates from The Looker<\/p>\n On GoFundMe<\/a>, Wilder wrote that Vanterpool, a 6-foot-8 man known by loved ones as a \u201cgentle giant,\u201d managed to drive himself to urgent care and then to the emergency room. There, his condition took a turn for the worse.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce at the hospital, doctors confirmed he was in septic shock. His vital organs began shutting down. He was placed on a ventilator and put into a medically induced coma,\u201d Wilder wrote. \u201cHis heart stopped twice and required resuscitation. He later underwent double bypass surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n Vanterpool was in a critical condition soon after the dentist appointment.<\/p>\n Wilder believed<\/a> that her husband\u2019s condition was caused by the dentist \u201cpoking in his mouth,\u201d which \u201ccaused bleeding in his gums\u201d during the appointment.<\/p>\n Sepsis, also known as blood poisoning, is an extreme, life-threatening response from the body to an infection. Infections can happen anywhere in the mouth, according to the Sepsis Alliance<\/a>.<\/p>\n Vanterpool is a father of two.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was otherwise a very normal, active person, dad and worker every day prior to that day,\u201d Wilder said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Vanterpool\u2019s condition continued to decline, and he developed purpura fulminans, a rare condition that causes the skin to die. It often leads to amputations, according to the National Library of Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHis hands turned black and hard,\u201d Wilder said, adding that Vanterpool went into another septic shock after the doctors attempted to remove the dead skin.<\/p>\n After his arrival at the hospital, in order to save his life, Vanterpool underwent the amputation of his right leg, his left leg from below the knee, his right hand, and his left forearm.<\/p>\n Vanterpool had to undergo amputation of four limbs.<\/p>\n On March 12, Wilder shared an update on the fundraising campaign, writing that Vanterpool had made progress in speech therapy. He had expressed that he missed his daughters and that he was afraid but brave.<\/p>\n![\"Wilder](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/XZI23EUB6RCGZLYAJJ6UAFA6QU.png\")
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