Dennis Cabot’s unbreakable spirit after losing his leg to flesh eating bacteria

After accidentally cutting himself while gardening, the last thing this tough-as-nails bloke thought would that it would cost him his leg, and nearly his life. Watch the video.

After a lifetime of labouring, Dennis Cabot, or “Cabo” to his mates, is no stranger to nicks and scratches after a hard day’s work but it would be one small cut while working in his garden that cost him his leg, and nearly his life.

Cabo was cutting his hedges on a Wednesday afternoon in late January when he accidentally dropped the trimmer and sliced his knee — little did he know at the time that a flesh-eating bug called Clostridium Septicam had entered his body.

After deciding to get a couple of stitches at the doctor the next day, he returned home, but it wasn’t long until the bacteria began destroying his leg.

“(It’s) the most pain I’ve been through,” Cabo said.

His granddaughter Tiarna Lunn said his leg began to blister due to how hot the infection had made his skin.

Dennis Cabot cut his knee with his hedge trimmer causing a flesh eating bug to enter his body.

The 74-year-old couldn’t feel his toes by the time the ambulance arrived early Friday morning, and his skin had already begun to turn black as the bacteria spread quickly, killing his leg.

“I laid in bed (on Thursday night) and then turned black throughout the night,” Cabo said.

It wasn’t long after arriving at Townsville University Hospital before he was rushed into surgery, where his entire leg, all the way up to the hip, was amputated.

His wife Maria stood in the hospital fearing for her husband’s life after the doctor told her he might not make it through surgery if the bacteria persisted in his body afterwards.

Dennis 'Cabo' Cabot, with granddaughter Tiarna Lunn and wife Maria, has had his leg amputated after he was infected with a flesh eating bug. Picture: Evan Morgan

“They said if they didn’t operate when they did, another 20 minutes, he would have died,” she said.

After surgery, it was a waiting game for the doctors, nurses and family members who hoped the bacteria hadn’t spread further into his body as Cabo lay in a coma.

“It was a really intense three or four days because we didn’t know if the infection was still going to be there,” Mrs Cabot said.

“We didn’t care if they took his leg, but we just wanted that infection to stop.”

But it was good news when he finally woke up as the bacteria was not doing any major damage to the rest of his body, and after a couple of more procedures, he was given the all-clear by doctors.

Dennis Cabot cut his knee with his hedge trimmer causing a flesh eating bug to enter his body.

Cabo was finally able to return home last week after a long nine weeks in hospital and while he said it had been a bit of an adjustment from the active life he used to lead, it would take more than the loss of a limb to break his spirits.

“You got to look forward, what’s done is done,” he said.

“I can still go out on crutches and sit outside … I can still lean over a car engine with one leg.”

Dennis Cabot cut his knee with his hedge trimmer causing a flesh eating bug to enter his body.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up by his granddaughter with the hope of raising enough money to eventually get Cabo a prosthetic leg and pay for the cost of the increased medical assistance he now needs.

“Pop is the most generous person, he does everything he can for anybody and everybody,” Ms Lunn said.

“Pop is still having a joke and a laugh when he can with all of us.”

Cabo said he was so grateful to have an amazing support system around him which included his wife, kids and grandkids and thanked the amazing work of the doctors and nurses at the hospital.

You can help his GoFundMe here: https://gofund.me/bdaf346d

Originally published as Dennis Cabot’s unbreakable spirit after losing his leg to flesh eating bacteria