PANAMA CITY, Fla., Aug. 20 (UPI) -- An Ohio man lost both his legs after contracting an infection from eating oysters while on a wedding trip to Florida.
Darrell Dishon, 40, of Lebanon planned to marry Nicole Copas in Florida, the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News reported. But he got sick several days before the ceremony.
While Dishon was lying in a coma in a Panama City hospital, Copas and Dishon's adult daughter, Brittany Moore, had to consent Aug. 1 to the double amputation. He only learned a week after the operation what had happened.
"He was in shock when he found out, but he stayed strong," Copas said. "He didn't say 'Oh, why me. He accepted it. He said he'll be OK."
Doctors say Dishon, who is diabetic, may have been especially susceptible to damage once he was infected with Vibrio vulnificus. Dr. Judith Feinberg of the University of Cincinnati said the bacteria can cause virulent skin infections like the one that made Dishon's amputation necessary.
Dishon is believed to have been infected by eating raw oysters July 26 in Panama City.
Friends in Ohio have planned a fundraiser this Saturday to help Dishon and Copas with expenses.
