For personal reasons, “Billy” did not want his real name revealed here. He lives in the Midwest as a double-leg, below-knee amputee and has had more brushes with death than most people.
In a telephone interview, 59-year-old Billy said, “The first incident (affecting me) was on July 3, 1971, when my parents were on vacation and my friend and I got some gasoline to mow a lawn. We used an ice cream pail to hold the gas and decided to screw around.”
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Billy and his friend played with firecrackers around the gas, the gas became ignited, and Billy caught fire and had extensive leg burns. An off-duty fireman nearby saved Billy’s life after tackling him to the ground, but Billy would have lifelong PTSD-related symptoms from the incident.
Then ten years ago, Billy learned he had diabetes after having a diabetic seizure while driving his automobile, but survived the ordeal because his children were there to help.
He said, “Then in September 2014, I had a (diabetic-related) sore on my toe. It wouldn’t heal and it kept growing and doctors decided to amputate. After they took my toe off, I had septic shock and had to be airlifted to a better-equipped hospital where they ended up amputating my left leg off below-knee.” While at the hospital, Billy “died” for 30 minutes before doctors revived him.
“Then I went to rehab, returned home, and was home only two weeks before I started getting sick again,” he said. “I passed out and was taken to the hospital, where they said I had too much potassium in my blood, which was affecting my heart. I flat-lined again and was ‘dead’ another 30 minutes before being revived. The people at the hospital called me ‘Cat Man’ because I had so many lives.”
In May 2015, he lost his other leg below-knee to amputation and was fitted for a second prosthesis. As if that weren’t enough, last December he had a heart attack. Doctors tried airlifting once again, but had to settle for a closer hospital because of the helicopter having to face poor flying conditions. Billy had a stent placed in his heart and was sent off for rehabilitation.
He said to people with disabilities going through life-threatening difficulties: “Don’t give up. Trust in God that he will take care of you. I’m here on Earth yet for some reason. Just be strong and go with the flow.”
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