Maryland dad Glenn Morris is sending a word of caution to travelers who go to unsanitary spas after his left leg was amputated because of a bone infection he suffered from a cut during a pedicure session.
Per the Daily Mail, 54-year-old Morris’ medical woes started after he and his wife Melissa went on a $270 “His and Hers” spa package trip in 2017. The couple had gone on that trip because they were having marital issues.
The relaxation session is said to have lasted for three hours. But Morris later noticed that the pedicure session had left him with a cut on one of the toes on his left foot. The 54-year-old initially did not bother about the injury and went back to the hotel.
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But the father-of-four noticed another swelling on his second toe the following day, and it was as big as the main toe. He then went to a nearby hospital where doctors informed him that he had suffered a bone infection. He was also told the infection was spreading, and he ultimately underwent a surgical procedure in June 2017 to remove the bone in his second toe.
But the surgery did not remedy his condition as the infection continued to spread. Morris is said to have suffered “extreme pain” for eight years as a result of the infection. In January 2025, Morris’ left leg was amputated below the knee to enable him to have the “best quality of life,” the Daily Mail reported.
“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,” Morris stated.
“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,” Morris said about the trip. “We left feeling very refreshed.”
Per the Mayo Clinic, osteomyelitis is a bone infection that can “affect one or more parts of a bone.” “Infections can reach a bone through the bloodstream or from nearby infected tissue. Infections also can begin in the bone if an injury opens the bone to germs,” the medical center adds.
Symptoms of osteomyelitis could include swelling, warmth, and tenderness over the area of the infection, pain near the infection, tiredness, and fever.
“Most people with osteomyelitis need surgery to remove areas of the affected bone,” the medical center states. “After surgery, most often people need strong antibiotics given through a vein.”
Prior to the amputation, Morris lost three toes as a result of the infection, and he had to wear a supportive boot for more than a year. He also suffered a blood infection in October 2024 and had to seek medical care. But that wasn’t the end of his suffering as he snapped his ankle in December, per the Daily Mail. His left leg was ultimately amputated that following month, and he was fitted with a prosthetic leg.
“[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,” he said.
“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.”
He added: “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.”
Morris said his infection was caused by the spa’s “unsanitary” tools, adding that he heard 28 people were similarly infected. He also explained why he decided not to seek legal redress after the owners absconded.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Morris also advised that a podiatrist is the “best place to get your nails clipped and the safest place.” “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,” he added.
READ ALSO: Nail salon agrees to pay $1.75M to woman who lost leg after pedicure
