As seen in the fall 2024 Ivy magazine.
If Cole Carlucci is wearing shorts, someone will inevitably ask him about the four scars on his right leg. You can’t miss them.
“I kind of like when people ask me about it. I tell them I got a crazy infection. Pretty rare, though, so you don’t have to worry about it,” he said.
‘Crazy’ doesn’t quite capture the level of health crisis Carlucci faced. ‘Potentially life-threatening’ does, though.
Carlucci, a junior studying management, knows what it means to be part of a team. He played football in high school and is an Iowa State University Cyclone wrestler. However, the most important team he joined may be the one that fought a formidable opponent: a potentially deadly infection invading his body.
“This was a really challenging case,” said Dr. Bryan Warme, a McFarland Clinic orthopedic surgeon who operated on Carlucci. “From a treatment and diagnostic standpoint, it was complicated and challenging, and one that involved multiple specialties.”
“I love taking care of these hard cases, helping people through these tense situations,” said Dr. Dan Fulton, McFarland Clinic infectious disease specialist and a member of the medical team who treated Carlucci.
Carlucci came to Iowa State from Colorado on a full academic scholarship. He was hoping to play football in college, but that plan changed when he was invited to visit the campus by a representative of the wrestling program.
“I fell in love with Iowa State and Iowa,” he said. “I’m really happy I came here. I made the right decision for sure.”
While a high school senior, he had surgery on his ACL. He had to sit out part of his first wrestling season at Iowa State due to the injury. In April 2023, he was eligible to compete at the U.S. Open Wrestling Match in Las Vegas, Nevada, but fell ill prior to the match.
“I noticed my leg was starting to hurt. They were both swelling. It seemed like nothing new because I had had a knee injury before,” he said.
He ended up at Mary Greeley’s Emergency Department with a 104° fever. After the fever was brought down, he was sent home with antibiotics. He was ultimately diagnosed with strep throat.
The next day, still feeling miserable, Carlucci’s trainer, Tim Weesner, sent him to the Stark Performance Center where he met Warme, who works closely with the Iowa State athletic department.
Carlucci’s strep diagnosis may have thrown the medical providers off due to the high fever. In reality, this infection was brewing in front of the kneecap, making him sick. The strep throat, in retrospect, may have been just colonization of the bacteria and not an actual throat infection.
“Dr. Warme saw me, and he immediately realized how serious it was,” Carlucci said. “He started talking about having to drain it and even told me about possible surgery. I was shocked. I was like, ‘I just had a fever last night, and now I may be getting surgery. I’m supposed to wrestle next week in the U.S. Open in Las Vegas.’”
Carlucci was admitted to Mary Greeley for 14 days. On Sunday, April 16, 2023, he had the first of several surgeries.
Facing the opponent
During the first surgery, Warme opened up the area in front of Cole’s knee and washed out the toxic materials. Cultures were sent to Mary Greeley’s lab and showed that the fluid drawn from the knee had streptococcus, the bacteria that causes strep throat.
While having the diagnosis provided valuable information for antibiotic treatment, it was concerning to the medical team. This particular organism that causes strep throat is dangerous when it’s in soft tissues. This concern prompted Warme to get Carlucci back in the operating room and wash out the infected area a second time.
“When I got in there, the area that I’d washed out two days before had spread into the quadriceps muscles underneath the skin,” Warme said.
Streptococcus bacteria produces destructive exotoxins.
“When it’s in the throat, oxygen and other factors can neutralize the effects. When the toxins are trapped under the skin, it can be hard to get control of,” said Warme.
A third surgery on April 21, 2023, revealed that the bacteria was moving further into Cole’s leg, prompting fears of necrotizing fasciitis, which is also referred to as “flesh-eating disease.” Shortly before Carlucci became ill, a college wrestler in Nebraska was diagnosed with this condition, intensifying concerns about the young Iowa State student. Luckily, Carlucci didn’t technically have necrotizing fasciitis, but his medical team said it was close.
The stress was hitting Carlucci.
“It was extremely scary when you’re about to be put to sleep, and you might wake up with no quad muscle,” he said. “So, going to sleep that day, I remember just praying. I was like, ‘I just want to be safe. I want to keep wrestling. I want to keep walking.’ I remember coming out of surgery and just feeling my leg and just thanking God that it was all there.”
Carlucci still had open wounds on his leg, with pumps constantly removing potentially harmful fluid.
“By the fourth surgery, I had three giant pumps and sponges everywhere, and my leg literally looked like a cow with black spots,” he said. “I just laid in bed, and I heard those pumps ticking all day. It was crazy, but at least my leg was there.”
Support
All through his ordeal, Carlucci had constant support. His parents arrived from Colorado. Members of the wrestling program were a constant presence. His lifting coach even brought him light weights so he could get in some brief workouts while lying in his hospital bed.
As a full-time college student, managing classes and coursework was challenging.
“I was in the hospital for two weeks and had little to no contact with any of my professors,” he said. “The first day I was admitted to the hospital, I was able to tell my professors that I would be missing homework assignments for that night, but at that point, I was completely unaware of what my sickness would become. It was not until I left the hospital two weeks later that I was able to email them again. It was the week of finals. I had to scramble to figure out how to make up two weeks of missed assignments and material while also trying to figure out how to finish my classes.”
Throughout this whole process, Carlucci was supported by numerous people.
“My academic advisor, Stephanie Larson, helped me a lot while I was in the hospital. After I got out of the hospital, Stephanie played a pivotal role in helping me get a summer extension for my classes.”
Larson saw his determination. “Cole never quit working hard and overcame great adversity,” she said.
His leg is healed and Carlucci is wrestling again. He even enjoyed waterskiing last summer.
Looking back at his experience, Carlucci feels grace and gratitude.
“I felt so cared for and protected by everyone from the hospital, all my nurses, doctors, but also the people from Iowa State, my faith community,” he said. “And Dr. Warme. I will feel forever grateful for him and how he protected me.”
On Saturday, November 11, 2023, Carlucci wrestled at his first meet in two years and won four of his five matches.
To connect with Cole Carlucci or follow his collegiate and professional journey, visit his LinkedIn profile.
