Alex Lewis is a man who truly personifies the concept of refusing to give up on life. In November 2013, the father of one caught what he thought was simply “man flu.” However, his sickness soon developed into toxic shock syndrome, which had devastating effects.
A flesh-eating bug was attacking his body, and doctors had only one option to save his life: amputating his limbs. They gave him only a three-percent survival, but Lewis was determined to make it. He battled against the odds to make a remarkable recovery, and today, he has proven his skeptics wrong, and is busy living his best life with his wife, Lucy Townsend, and his son, Sam.
This is the incredible story of Alex Lewis.
It’s easy to complain about small things in our everyday lives. Maybe your morning coffee was a bit cold, the bus was running late, or that television show you watched last night wasn’t as good as you had hoped it would be.
Sure, it’s okay to complain about things – we all, after all, live different lives. However, at the same time, it’s essential that once in a while, we stop for a second to appreciate what we have, even though we might not be living in the most ideal setting.
From now on, every time I feel like I don’t have the energy to complete a small task – such as doing the dishes – or simply feel like complaining about the little troubles in life, I will always think of Alex lewis. The father of one has endured a truly traumatic time alongside his family, and his life changed forever in 2013.
What he thought was a cold turned into a life-threatening situation, but against all odds, Lewis made it out alive. Today, he’s proven that you can do incredible things with a fighting spirit, such as, for example, climbing a mountain – without having arms or legs.
Alex Lewis, from Stockbridge, in Hampshire, England, and his wife Lucy Townsend, are happily living their lives together.
In 2013, they had settled down, were raising their then-two-year-old son Sam, and ran the Greyhound pub – a former Michelin Pub of the Year – and the King’s Arms in nearby Lockerley. Alex was an interior designer and a builder by trade, and loved going to the pub with friends and playing golf.
It seemed like nothing could stop the 32-year-old from enjoying his time with his family and friends. Then, in November of 2013, everything came crashing down.
Alex caught a bad cold, which his wife Lucy first thought was a “man flu.” Both Alex and his son, Sam, fell ill, but it didn’t appear to be a big deal. A little bit of sleep and rest would probably be enough to cure it, or so the family thought.
“Because we owned and lived in a pub and came into contact with lots of different people, I assumed it was a seasonal cold and thought it started off as man flu,” Alex Lewis told Metro.
However, Alex never got better.
Instead, he became feverish, and soon started to pass blood in his urine. His skin turned purple, and by that point, Alex and Lucy were sure that this wasn’t any ordinary cold.
It turned out that Alex had caught a streptococcal infection (type A). On November 17, 2013, he was rushed to hospital in Winchester, England, and doctors discovered that the infection had penetrated deep into his tissues and organs. It had triggered blood poisoning – or sepsis – a life-threatening condition that can cause several organs to fail. He had contracted shock syndrome, septicemia, and necrotizing fascitis – and his body was attacking itself from the inside out.
The family’s life was turned upside down within hours. Speaking to The Guardian, his wife Lucy recalled the horrible moment at the hospital when she thought Alex would die.
“I called an ambulance, and within eight minutes, they were there. At the hospital, we went straight into resuscitation, and I was told to say goodbye. His kidneys were shutting down, and they were going to put him on life support,” she recalled.
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