On Monday, George Koenig, 65, strolled along Waikiki Beach with his metal detector, looking for coins and the occasional ring — as he has done almost every day for the past 14 years.

But on Tuesday, Koenig woke up with a terrific pain in his right foot.

"I thought something was wrong with my foot right away," said Koenig, who didn't recall having any cuts on his foot when he went to the beach the day before. But he did say that he might have suffered a small cut during his walk.

By Wednesday, Koenig's foot was noticeably red and swollen. He took pain relievers and put ointment on a sore that had appeared by his toes.

On Thursday, with Koenig's foot twice its normal size and his temperature rising, his wife, Christine, urged him to see a doctor. But Koenig, who hadn't seen a doctor in two decades, held out.

The wait ended Friday. Koenig's wife rushed him to the emergency ward at the Straub Clinic and Hospital. "The doctor said I've got bacterial infection from the sand," he said afterward.

The doctor gave him antibiotic shots and pills, and told the couple, who live in Waikiki, the infection was serious. He told Christine Koenig that if the infection spread, to get her husband back to the emergency ward immediately.

"I'm so scared, I check his foot every two hours," she said yesterday. "It looks like it's spreading, but it may have stopped."

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.