I survived a flesh-eating bacteria

As told to Megan Messerly

Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015 | 2 a.m.

I came home early from work one day thinking I had the flu. My wife already had been sick for about a week, so I thought I caught what she had.

But when I got home, I literally passed out. I remember only bits and pieces from the next day.

My wife took me to urgent care. My kidneys weren’t working. My blood had become septic.

Worst-case scenario, they expected it was a flesh-eating bacteria. The tests take about three days, so they treated me with antibiotics just in case.

By the time the results came back, I already was on life support. They told my family to come down because it didn’t seem like I was going to survive.

But the doctor who went in to remove the bacteria didn’t give up on me. That kind of has been the story of my life. He went in and asked my wife if it would be all right to perform surgery on me. He said I probably wasn’t going to make it — I wasn’t stable — but there weren’t really any other options.

The doctor went in twice, but the surgeries didn’t work; they couldn’t remove all the bacteria. At that point, they could’ve just taken off my whole leg, but he didn’t want to give up. So he went in a third time, and they were able to control the bacteria, remove it and save my leg.

But I still had to have amputations. The flesh-eating bacteria didn’t get my hands and feet, but the medication that kept me alive caused a frostbite effect and caused me to lose my extremities.

Ironically, it was an amazing experience to be in the hospital. Not too many people get the opportunity to say this, but I got to see the legacy I would leave behind. When you’re at a funeral, people go up to the podium and say what a great person he was and how much he was loved and revered and this and that. But the person never gets to hear those words while they’re alive. I got that opportunity.

When I got out of the hospital, my routine didn’t change. We still did the same things — differently, we had to learn, we had to adjust — but our lifestyle didn’t change much. Within two months I was back on the basketball court coaching summer basketball.

Others may think this is a curse, but I’ve told my wife a number of times, I actually consider this a blessing. I think I can help more people in this condition than I ever could have with hands and feet.

We speak motivationally across the United States, and if somebody looks at me and says, “Wow, and I thought I had it bad,” and all of a sudden does something to change his or her life, I think we’ve done something positive.

Ninety percent of the time I’m in a wheelchair. But the easiest thing to do when times are tough is to give of yourself. Find something, go and volunteer. I coach, and I volunteer at UMC. It gets me through any depression rather than lie in bed and feel self-pity.

When I wake up in the morning, I think, “What magical thing is going to happen to be today?” I think life is exciting.

I was perfectly healthy, strong and in the best shape of my life, and within 24 hours, I went from that to life support. I realized how easily life can be taken away, so I don’t take anything for granted. Life can be as exciting as you make it. I keep telling my wife, “The best is coming.”