Man's leg amputated after taking 'DOB'

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Karen Scott did not know what to think when she got a phone call last week to say her nephew Eric had been admitted into St. David’s Hospital with vascular problems.

Unfortunately, doctors did not know what to think, either.

“They really did not know what he had taken,” said Karen.

After a week-long stay in the hospital, Eric has undergone two angioplasties and his left leg has been amputated.

It appears to have all started with something he took on his own.

“It is a tragedy because it could have been avoided,” said Karen. “It is self-induced.”

Friends who brought Eric to the hospital told doctors he had taken a drug called DOB, a psychedelic drug that medical experts say is rarely seen due to its powerful nature.

DOB causes the veins and blood vessels to constrict so tight that blood cannot flow throughout the entire body.

Experts say it looks like cocaine or LSD and the people who take it often confuse it for one of those drugs.

Karen does not think Eric knew the dangers of DOB.

“They are making it in backstreet alleys and giving it to kids. They have no idea what they are taking," she said.

As rare as the drug is, experts say it is still relatively easy to make.

Eric’s family is still not sure what he may have been doing or how he came into contact with the drug, but they hope other families can learn a lesson about the dangers drugs can pose.

“It is heartbreaking,” said Karen. “His foot will never hit the floor again. It is gone.”