NEVER GIVE UP!

On January 19th at 1am I went to hospital with calf pain in my right leg. I woke up on the 29th at noon with a right hip disarticulation caused by necrotizing fasciitis. On the 19th, 5 hours before I went to hospital my brother-in-law died in a snowmobile accident. I was in so much pain in my calf that the death never hit me.

On the 21st my son-in-law’s mom died on the way to the hospital from a heart attack. During that time, I had 3 surgeries. The first surgery was a below-knee amputation in which I coded twice. I went in for a second surgery because the flesh was peeling off behind my knee. They gave me an above-knee amputation. The doctors told my friends and family to say their goodbyes. I was then life-flighted to Cleveland Clinic ICU where I had my third surgery to the right hip disarticulation.

I was on 3 pressers, had a complete blood transfusion, and had about 15 IV bags hooked up to me. Woke up about 2pm on the 22nd and my wife said you don’t have a leg. Two people in my family died that weekend. I said, “Okay, I’m alive.” I never really grieved about losing my leg, I just moved on.

After waking up I stood on my leg, sat in a chair, and the next day I took a 200ft walk. While in the ICU outside my window in the parking garage I saw a Relmac truck. This was my brother-in-law’s company. When I would close my eyes in the ICU, I would see black body armor (like in Batman). There was a red hue right in front of me and I would see tiny white lights that would fade in and out, like in a Halloween decoration. I was later told by an elderly nun that those were angels. She said that angels were soldiers and that is what is portrayed in movies. I never saw this after leaving the ICU.

In step down I was hopping every day. I was told that I was doing too well, and insurance may skip rehab and go straight to skilled nursing. I lost my leg . How can someone be doing too good? I was approved for rehab and spent 14 days there learning how to do everyday things. I spent a total of 40 days in hospital and rehab.

I received my leg on June 28th, and I just keep pushing forward. We basically have 2 options at this point. You can give up or you can see each day as a blessing and do everything you can to see the next one. This ride is not easy, you will have good days and bad days. I’m looking forward to seeing how my story ends hopefully many, many years from now.