Triple amputee dances on birthday

Woman lost limbs after bite from dog

Christine Caron vowed to dance again after three of her limbs were amputated because of a rare infection following a bite from her own dog.

Much to the surprise of friends and family, Caron danced for hours at her 50th birthday party on Oct. 26, only a few months after she learned to walk with prosthetic legs.

“I just started with the knee and next thing you know I was dancing and there were people around me,” Caron said. “People joined in and celebrated with me. I felt like I could fly and they knew that.”

Caron, a single mother of four, was playing tug of war with two of her four dogs on May 18 when she was nipped by her dog Buster. Her three other dogs came and licked her wound. It’s unclear whether the capnocytophaga canimorsus bacteria that infected her came from Buster or from the other dogs.

Caron was in a coma for a month and a half. When she woke up, the doctors told her they had to amputate all four of her limbs.

Caron was relieved when she was told that her right hand could be saved. She loves to write and sketch.

The road to recovery for Caron hasn’t been easy, but her strength and perseverance have astonished those close to her.

‘I just started with the knee and next thing you know I was dancing and there were people around me ... I felt like I could fly and they knew that.’

CHRISTINE CARON Triple amputee describing her recovery following surgery

Caron was fitted with two prosthetic legs that attach at the knees a few months after her limbs were amputated.

At first, doing a small kick was a big accomplishment.

After countless hours with a physiotherapist at The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre, Caron learned to walk again.

“I’m very lucky,” Caron said. “I’m walking everywhere right now — to all of my appointments, around everywhere.”

Caron still has a long way to go. She said she uses twice as much energy to walk with prosthetic legs as she did before.

To help with the transition when she leaves the hospital, Caron bought a new, more accessible home.

The renovations that still need to be done will be funded by money raised online at fundrazr.com/campaigns/2YQYf

More than $89,000 has been donated toward a $100,000 fundraising goal.

Caron said she doesn’t know exactly when she will be discharged from hospital, but she is determined to spend Christmas with her family.

“I need to be home to be a mom,” Caron said.