Dutch Mantell – “I Was Given a 50/50 Chance of Living”

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For those unaware, “Dirty” Dutch Mantell AKA former WWE manager Zeb Colter, was recently hospitalised for 26 days after contracting E. coli poisoning, which subsequently developed into septicemia. Doctors gave Dutch a 50/50 chance of surviving. Thanks to his daughter Amanda’s quick thinking, she called 911 in the nick of time which ended up saving his life.

The following are quotes from the most recent episode of Story Time with Dutch Mantell podcast –

https://youtu.be/EV621F8-axM where Dutch details his recent health battles:

Dutch: I was sitting at home… and I couldn’t stay awake and I kept like, just nodding off, just going out… [My daughter] said, are you okay? And she said I kept giving her gibberish answers which made no sense. And she was looking at me funny and this continued for like an hour or two. Finally she said there’s something wrong. And she called 911 and they came and picked me up. And I don’t even remember that… there’s bits and pieces of this whole 26 day affair that I have no recollection of. Nothing.

(Co-host) James: What caused the initial infection then? Was it just a fever?

Dutch: I found out later, not only did I have sepsis, but I had E. coli too on top of that… I must have had E. coli first. And it caused the sepsis…

When I went to the hospital… I remember bits and pieces of that. But nothing was serious to me, because I was laughing, and I was kidding, and I don’t remember hurting, but I had a fever, and I remember [medical personnel] around me, and it was like in consciousness and out of consciousness.

Mantell on what happens to the body once sepsis takes hold:

Dutch: So I started looking it up. Hell, I scared myself reading about it because if not attended to immediately, not two days later, three days later, four, if not attended to within the first 24 hours, you’ll be dead in 72, it spreads that fast. And of course, in reading, I started reading about other things, like if one organ shuts down, the next organ is going to follow soon, because they have all this message system.

James: What was the treatment that you were given to get over it?

Dutch: I was given [antibiotics] every three hours. And this is what I don’t remember; I was given a blood transfusion. I said, uh, what? And I do not remember that… They said they gave me a blood transfusion. So it had to be serious. And they did give me, I think I remember, they said I had a 50/50 chance [of surviving], I think… And I didn’t much like those odds, but there’s nothing I could do about them. But I do thank the hospital, I mean they gave me good care, expensive as hell but they kept me alive.

But when somebody looks at you and you says, “Mr. Cowan, we’re going to be honest with you, you have a 50/50 chance of surviving this.” And they didn’t tell me [about the] sepsis then. Cause I would have freaked out because I would have recognized the word. I know it’s not good. And if they said E. coli, I’d have jumped out the window. Oh my God. But the thing that counts right now is I’m still here.

The good news is that Dutch made it back home the day before Christmas, although he has been told that lifestyle changes are required, and that he may now be at increased risk of contracting sepsis again.

credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell