Couple took a spa trip to save their marriage… what happened next led to one of them losing a leg

A Maryland father is warning travelers of visiting ‘dirty spas’ after a bone infection from a pedicure led to doctors amputating his leg. 

Glenn Morris, 54, treated his wife Melissa to a $270 ‘His and Hers’ spa package trip when their relationship was on the rocks in 2017.

But during the three-hour long relaxation treatment, they noticed one of Glenn’s toes on his left foot had a small cut from the pedicure. 

Thinking nothing of it, the father-of-four went about his day and returned to hotel. 

However a day later, he noticed that his second toe had ‘swollen up’ to the size of his big toe and decided to get it checked at a nearby hospital. 

To his surprise, doctors told him he had a bone infection’ that was beginning to spread and as a result, the bone in his second toe was surgically removed in June 2017. 

But what was meant to stop the spread of the infection instead led to eight years of ‘extreme pain’ and ultimately the amputation his left leg below the knee in to order to give him the ‘best quality of life’ in January 2025.  

Glenn said: ‘That one treatment has completely changed my life. I never thought [a pedicure] would cause what happened. The price of looking good is not worth losing a leg.’

Speaking about the trip, which was all going to plan until he suffered the nick, Glenn said: ‘While we were there she had one technician on her and one technician on me doing the pedicures and manicures on tables next to each other. 

‘We left feeling very refreshed.’

A bone infection or osteomyelitis is a serious infection that happens when bacteria or fungi infect the bone marrow and can can cause permanent bone loss and necrosis (tissue death) if not immediately treated. 

The infection usually starts on a wound or surgery site on the skin, enters the bloodstream and then spreads to the bones.

Symptoms of osteomyelitis can vary depending on which bone is infected but common signs include fever, bone pain, sweating, chills, skin discoloration and swelling. 

To treat the condition, doctors usually surgically remove portions of bone that have been infected, which may lead to amputation of certain limbs. 

This is followed by strong antibiotics or antifungals administered through an IV for at least six weeks to completely kill the infection. 

Every year, about one in 2,000 Americans end up being diagnosed with osteomyelitis. 

While studies show that the overall mortality rate for the infection is low, some suggest that one in five people can die if they do not receive proper treatment. 

Despite his initial June 2017 surgery, the bone infection continued to spread into his other toes and led to the amputation of both his big and third toe in the left foot in 2018 and 2019 respectively. 

The loss of three of his toes forced the business owner to wear a boot for a year and a half to protect and support his foot. 

However in October 2024, Glenn ended up at a nearby hospital for a blood infection and in December after his ankle snapped while he was brushing his teeth. 

As his condition continued to worsen, doctors decided to amputate Glenn’s leg on January 28, 2025 and fitted him with a prosthetic leg. 

He is now able to walk with the prosthetic after going to rehab. 

The father explained: ‘[The doctor] told me that amputation would be the best way to come back with the best quality of life I was expected to have. Amputation was the best way to respond. Mentally it was okay for me to go ahead. 

‘Once I had the amputation most of the pain stopped. I had been in an extreme amount of pain and lived with about a six degree pain over the last eight years. 

‘I haven’t been able to wear a regular shoe on my foot in about two to three years because of swelling so I’ve had to wear an orthopedic boot.

‘Working was pretty hard because I needed to be up on my feet and I hadn’t been able to do that on my left side and I haven’t been able to walk long distances. 

‘Grocery shopping has been a chore and I couldn’t go to football games because I couldn’t take the steps. It’s been hard.

‘It was a massive relief because I could start over and the quality of life I’m looking to have is within reach. I got a prosthetic leg and have been learning how to walk on it.’

Since then, Glenn blames the shop’s ‘unsanitary’ equipment for his ordeal and claims he heard it had affected 28 other people but he never took legal action after the owners fled.

He now wants to warn people against using high street nail shops and encourages them to visit a podiatrist instead, a healthcare professional specializing in foot, ankle and lower leg care.

Glenn said: ‘It had to be from unsanitary utensils or ones that didn’t get cleaned properly. I couldn’t see it but once the incision cut me the infection went in.

‘The [owners] had packed up and left. At that time it was more important for me to save my leg than to pay a lawyer to find them.

‘It hurts me to see nail shops so full every week knowing that every time I went to a podiatrist to have them check my feet the officer would say it’s full of people who are there because of an infection [from nail shops].

‘He said it’s so common and that so many people come in with foot injuries from pedicures, whether they know at the time or not.

‘A podiatrist is the best place to get your nails clipped and the safest place. I’d warn people against using places on the high street.

‘I look at my life now going forward advocating for other people in my situation so that they can have access to the activities I like to do like golf, swimming, fishing.’