December 19, 2009
Lebanon man who lost both legs to bacteria infection dies
By Justin McClelland, Staff Writer Updated 10:12 PM Friday, December 18, 2009
Darrel Dishon, the Lebanon man who lost both his legs to a flesh-eating bacteria after eating contaminated oysters, died this week after complications from the infection.
Dishon, 40, had traveled to Panama Springs, Fla., in July with his fiancee, Nicole Copas to marry. Shortly before the planned wedding, he ate at an oyster bar with friends and contracted the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus, a bacteria commonly found in the shellfish. Because Dishon was a diabetic, his immune system was more vulnerable to the bacteria.
The next day he began developing food poisoning-like symptoms and had to be taken to the emergency room. A day later he was in a medically-induced coma, and Copas was forced to give the doctors the OK to amputate his legs in order to save his life. Dishon did not know his legs had been removed for more than a week after the operation.
Dishon returned to Lebanon in October after marrying Copas and spending months in two hospitals in Florida and Alabama.
Brittany Moore, Dishon’s daughter, said an MRI taken the day after Thanksgiving revealed a bone infection in his right leg. Moore said doctors amputated five more inches off his leg, but the infection persisted, eventually causing organ failure.
He died Monday, Dec. 14 and family members held a service for him Thursday, Dec. 17.
“He fought to the end,” Moore said. “He always had a positive outlook about it and never gave up.”
Moore said her father, who was born in Morrow, enjoyed hunting and motorcycling and was an energetic, outgoing personality.
“He never knew a stranger,” Moore said. “He was always more worried about other people than himself.”
When spoken to in October, Dishon was optimistic about the future, working to become ready for prosthetic legs.
He spoke of daily triumphs, such as being able to move from his wheelchair into the bathroom for the first time by himself.
“The support I’ve received from so many people in the past couple of months — I would never say what happened to me was a blessing, but I’ve found a lot of blessings in my life because of it,” Dishon said in an October interview.
Moore said her father had also began working to get the sale of raw oysters regulated or banned to prevent anybody else from contracting the bacteria. The FDA recently asked for such a ban but the measure failed in Congress.
Moore said her family was also establishing a fund to help other families who encounter catastrophic events like the one that befell Dishon. She said they would hold an annual fundraiser at Kings Bar and Grill in Lebanon every August. The bar held a fundraiser for Dishon last August.
Dishon is survived by his wife, son Nick Dishon, daughters Brittany Moore and Jessica Van Praag, and stepson Nick Butler.
The family requested that memorial donations be directed to the Darrel Dishon Fund, c/o Stine Kilburn Funeral Home, 801 Monroe Road, Lebanon, Ohio 45036.
