Nigerian man loses his leg after home pedicure went wrong

A father-of-one has told how he was forced to have his leg amputated after suffering a small burn on his feet that developed into life-threatening sepsis

Olubiyi Jibowu, from London, gave himself a DIY pedicure in July 2023, running a bath with Himalayan salt, in a bid to have smoother feet for summer.

But the now 57-year-old, who has type 2 diabetes making it harder to feel pain, only realised how scalding the water was when he saw angry blisters all over his feet.

Instead of seeking medical attention, he treated the burns himself with Dettol believing it would help the sores to heal quickly.

However, after days of excruciating pain, the skin on his feet peeled and shrivelled, turning black.

It was only after his manager saw his feet and urged him to go to A&E that medics then discovered he had sepsis—the immune system’s violent reaction to an infection.

Despite rapid treatment in hospital, doctors were forced to amputate his leg below the knee to prevent it spreading.

Now, the addiction support worker is calling on others not to brush off small wounds and always seek help quickly—especially if they’re diabetic.

Recalling his horrifying ordeal, Mr Jibowu said: ‘I initially thought, these are just blisters, they’ve peeled and they’re a bit sore.

‘I didn’t want them to get infected, so I thought Dettol would make it better. That’s what my mum used to do.

‘She would put a drop here and there, but I kept pouring it on.

‘It was pain I can’t even describe. I’m a big guy, but it was just too much.

‘The skin eventually shrivelled up and was just torn apart. It went all black. I could see the fragments of my bone structure on my feet.’

He added: ‘The left foot just wasn’t healing. I went to work one day and showed my manager, and she sent me home immediately.

‘I called my sister, and I was in severe pain. She could hear it in my voice that I needed urgent help. My skin was falling off.

‘I went to King’s Hospital in London and I just thought, this will pass, it will get better but it didn’t.’

Type 2 diabetes can leave patients with reduced pain perception due to nerve damage, known as diabetic neuropathy.

This damage can result in numbness, tingling, or burning sensations, and in some cases, a reduced perception of pain, especially in the extremities like the feet and hands.

But Mr Jibowu wasn’t even aware he had the condition until medics diagnosed him with type 2 diabetes in hospital.

He said: ‘The moment I got there, I knew it was serious. It was rapidly deteriorating.

‘They wrapped it [my feet] up and pumped me full of antibiotics, but there was no healing.’

After weeks in hospital to treat sepsis with antibiotics, he was told medics had no choice but to amputate below the knee.

‘I was in a state of shock; my mind was all over the place,’ he added.

‘I didn’t want the consultant who talked about that anywhere near me. I really believed there could be a better solution, not amputation straight away.

‘I said, “Are you telling me there’s no plan B to turn this around?” I was just so taken aback.’

Sepsis, nicknamed the ‘silent killer’ because it is extremely difficult to recognise, k!lls just shy of 50,000 Brits every year.

It occurs when the body’s immune system goes into overdrive, setting off a series of reactions that can lead to organ failure.

Bacterial infections are usually to blame, but viruses such as Covid and flu—which antibiotics don’t work against—can also lead to sepsis.

Early detection is vital. In its early stages, it can cause shivering, aches and may be mistaken for flu.

Suspected patients are meant to get antibiotics within an hour of arriving at hospital.

Every hour of delay in diagnosis increases the risk of dying from sepsis by one to two per cent, The UK Sepsis Trust estimates.

But the after-effects that survivors encounter can be life-changing.

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