On October 2, 2002, I awoke with the worst case of the flu I'd ever had. I was able to keep down two soda crackers and a few sips of Gatorade. The next morning, I was much worse and didn't get out of bed because my legs ached so bad. That evening, my fever went up to 105 and I was in and out of conciseness. I managed to reach my ex-wife and asked her to come get my son. She came to our house and immediately took me to Rose Hospital in Denver. In the time it took to drive to the hospital I could no longer walk at all and had to be taken in to the hospital in a wheelchair. I was talking with the intake nurse when my right leg split open from the swelling. The pain was so intense, that I passed out. My ex had already left with my son, and the hospital didn't have a next of kin so they admitted me put me in ICU and looked for family.They reached my father the next afternoon and told him to get there quickly because I was dying. Upon his arrival, he was told that the hospital didn't have the facilities to save me, but I would not survive an ambulance ride to Pres St. Luke's hospital where they had a barometric chamber and a group of vascular surgeons who had seen this disease before. The decision was made to move me. When I arrived at Pres., I was immediately taken into surgery and my lower leg was removed. I was taken to ICU after surgery where I remained in a comma for 10 weeks. During that time I received 15 surgeries, finally removing the rest of my right leg. I then started passing blood clots to my heart and lungs and had to have an umbrella installed above my heart to keep me from suffering a major stroke. When I finally awoke from the coma, the pain was unbelievable and they kept me really doped up for another month. During this time they also gave me massive doses of antibiotics, witch eventually melted my veins in the pick line in my arm and caused a new infection in my arm. More surgery, and 10 more days of laying there with my arm cut wide open so they could keep cleaning the infection out. At the same time they were changing the bandages on my amputation twice daily. I still remember the pain being so great that I would finally pass out, even with the pain killers.

I finally was moved to a regular room in the hospital but no one was allowed to see me without gowning up because they didn't know if I was contagious or not. During this whole time I had been fed intravenously and contracted Diabetes. Finally, after 14 weeks, they let me have a couple of spoon full's of Jello - God you of thought I was eating a T-bone. I was finally sent to P.T. to learn to walk but the damage to my left leg made it so painful it was almost impossible to stand because of the pain in my lower leg and ankle.

It's July 2003 now and I'm finally home with my boy. I have a prosthesis now but still have a lot of difficulty walking with the pain. I'll keep trying though!! I look back know, and I believe that the Man needed me here to raise my son or maybe write this story for others, I don't know but I was so close to death that I could have easily let go. I didn't let go and I won't quit trying to be as whole again as I can.