A call that left Brittany Faske, a volunteer with the rescue organisation ADORE (All Dogs Official Rescue Enterprise of Houston), anxious came in January. A construction worker in Houston, Texas, noticed an injured Pit Bull with half of its face missing. According to the man, the dog hid in the bush and refused to allow anyone approach too close.
The woman was taken aback by the call and rushed to the spot. When she discovered the dog beside a ditch among the bags of food leftovers and old tyres, she realised he was in far worse condition than she had anticipated. The dog was in such horrible shape that she thought the best she could do was relieve his agony.
“This once-beautiful, big, and strong dog had been reduced to almost nothing.” He was so skinny that his ribs, hip bones, and backbone were clearly visible beneath his skin, in addition to his injuries. “He was covered in dirt and very weak,” Brittany explained to The Dodo.
The dog made a warning growl as she approached, but it didn’t startle her. She didn’t expect a different reaction from him, given the situation he was in and everything he had to go through and suffer through to remain that way.
After a while, the dog let Brittany to approach close enough to examine her injuries. The animal’s nose and snout were missing, and what was left hung in front of her face.
Brittany instantly realised it couldn’t have been an accident because the cut was so straight it could only have been made with a sharp instrument. So, that dog scenario was most likely the act of a human being, possibly the same one who left him lying there. In addition to the horrific sight of the wounds, the dog reeked of infection.
Brittany took Apollo, the dog she named, to the veterinarian after gaining his trust. Despite appearing to be in excruciating pain, the dog managed to relax and even fall asleep in the woman’s car. However, he was not yet fully safe.
The dog required immediate medical attention, and Brittany was unsure if he could handle the therapies that were to follow. However, when Apollo arrived at the clinic, he trotted around the waiting area, sniffing people and interacting with the other dogs.
Apollo had heartworm, a disorder that arises when parasitic worms move through a dog’s tissues to its heart and can lead to death if left untreated, in addition to his facial injuries.
Brittany and the vet placed food and water in front of Apollo to determine his quality of life and ability to eat properly. He could have a shot if he can do it.
Apollo ate two bowls of food and water without hesitation. Then Apollo approached the woman who had saved him and rested his head on her leg. “From that moment on, we knew he wasn’t just any dog,” Brittany explained.
Apollo eventually underwent reconstructive surgery. The dog’s exterior nose had been removed, but he still had a nasal cavity through which he could breathe. During the procedure, the veterinarian wrapped a skin graft around the exposed bone in Apollo’s nasal cavity to protect what was left of his nose. While the vet had to remove part of the dog’s top jaw and some teeth, he was still able to maintain enough of his mouth for him to eat and drink regularly.
Meanwhile, Brittany had not considered adopting the dog; she was simply concerned with the surgery and the dog’s recovery. She knew, though, that she and Apollo had formed a special link that was growing stronger by the day.
Brittany introduced Apollo to her other dogs, two males over the age of ten. “They were powerful breeds with volatile temperaments.” Two old men who are grumpy. I wasn’t sure if they could take another dog. “They were used to being just the two of them and were very protective of me,” she explained.
Once again, Apollo outperformed Brittany’s expectations. Apollo not only accepted the new dog, but he also adored the elder dogs. Another surprise element about Apollo was that he enjoyed being among others, which was unexpected given what he had been through. After that, Brittany made the obvious decision to officially adopt Apollo.
Apollo now lives a full life despite his facial injuries. His repaired nose functioned like any other dog’s nose, allowing him to breathe, smell, and sneeze normally. His reconstructed jaw does not prevent him from eating or playing.
Apollo enjoys cuddling up in the recliner with Brittany and watching TV, playing with his dog brothers, eating, and sunbathing. Furthermore, the dog received personalised training sessions at a Total Control K9 College K9 course, where he attends classes every Saturday and appears to like it.
Apollo was able to overcome his emotional traumas thanks to Brittany’s devotion, which also made him a very caring and affectionate dog. “I’ve never met a happier dog.” “You can see their trust and love in their eyes,” Brittany says.
Dad was left unrecognizable after losing his lips and four limbs to flesh-eating bacteria – This is what he looks like today
The life story of Alex Lewis is like no other. This man refused to give up on his life no matter what it took, and today, he’s thriving with the help of his loving wife Lucy Townsend, and their son.
Alex and Lucy always knew they were meant for each other. When they married and welcomed their son Sam into their life, they felt like the happiest couple on Earth. But then in 2013, around the time Sam turned two, this family’s life took a different turn.
Both Alex and Sam caught the flu, or at least they believed so. However, as the boy got better in a short period of time, Alex wasn’t feeling fine even days after he experienced the flu-like symptoms.
“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 told Metro.
Instead of improving, his condition worsened and he became feverish and noticed blood in his urine.
As he could feel something was very wrong, he went to the hospital where doctors told him he contracted a streptococcal infection (type A). Unfortunately, at that point, the infection penetrated deep into the tissue and the organs and caused sepsis. Alex had contracted shock syndrome, septicemia, and necrotizing fascitis – and his body was attacking itself from the inside out.
“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,” his wife Lucy told The Guardian.
Doctors’ prognoses were dull. They told the family there was just a three percent chance that Alex would survive as his face and body turned black.
“They were going to turn my life support off, but they wanted to give me one more night to see if I improved, and they wanted to give my family a chance to say goodbye,” Alex told Metro.
“I cannot imagine what Lucy and my mum were going through.
“Having spoken to them since it happened, I think they were more in shock as they couldn’t believe something so incredibly invasive was happening so quickly,” he added.
“I don’t remember being in excruciating pain at this point, but my family remembers seeing me in absolute agony.”
It was determined that a flesh-eating bacteria was poisoning his body so doctors had to amputate his left arm up to the elbow. Sadly, as months passed by, Alex lost all of his limbs, and doctors were also forced to cut parts of his face in order to save his life.
“I can remember seeing my legs in hospital and how they were getting blacker and blacker,” Alex told The Guardian. “The blackness was creeping up towards my waist. I don’t remember seeing my left arm in that condition, but I can remember my legs vividly.”
As Alex lost his lips, plastic surgeon Alexandra Crick took skin from his shoulder in an attempt to fix his mouth.
“It would take me about an hour to eat a sandwich at night, and that was with the help of the nurse,” he told the Daily Mail.
“The last available skin for surgery was on my shoulder,” he explained. “So they replaced the temporary flap with that. All my other skin had to be used for grafts or was scarred.”
“Having my bottom and top lip done at the same time like this was a world first. It’s one piece of skin, and it was like if you imagine placing a bag in your mouth and then sewing around the edges. After the original operation, I had to have them every three or four months.”
Looking at his father, and how different he was, Sam was afraid to approach closer to him, but Lucy found a way to explain to him why his dad looked like that, which wasn’t easy as Sam was just two years old at the time.
After spending months at the hospital Alex could finally go home. The good thing was that doctors managed to save the elbow of his right arm which allowed him to have a prosthetic and be able to use his arm. Eventually, he could speak again as his lip surgery was a huge success.
“That one elbow is his whole independence,” Lucy said.
“I had to relearn everything,” Alex added. “From learning to eat, drink, put my clothes on, to learn to use a prosthesis, and to self propel a manual wheelchair.”
Today, Alex is involved in a number of tech projects which help ease the lives of disabled people. Among the rest, he has tested solar-powered, battery-assisted four-wheeled handles which have been designed by masters students at Southampton University.
Despite his condition, he’s living a quality life and is doing a lot of things, such as kayaking and climbing. In 2019, he climbed one of Africa’s tallest mountains using a specially adapted buggy.
“Since becoming an amputee, I’ve been fortunate enough to try out a number of training methods to keep my fitness up, working with physios and visiting the Help for Heroes training facilities,” he shared with Sports Management.
“I’ve had first-rate guidance, but nothing has been as effective as EMS training, especially in such a short space of time.
“It’s amazing how the machine helps me to engage muscles I haven’t felt since I lost my arms and legs,” he added.
“I feel stronger in training, daily life tasks are easier, and I’ve gained greater confidence that I can take on these challenges.”
His Wild Wheelchairs Project, besides helping improve the lives of disabled people, raises money to finance the construction and operation of a wheelchair manufacturing facility in Ethiopia.
Alex is also a motivational speaker who is happy with his life.
“I’ve lived more of a life in the past four years than I did in the previous 33, and it’s made me realize how much I love Lucy and Sam,” he told Metro.
“There was so much I regretted not doing when I had arms and legs, but I am not letting that happen again. I would not change anything, not in a heartbeat.”
Sam also learned to love his dad for who he is and is proud of him.
We truly admire this brave man’s resilience. His story is proof that no matter the curveballs life throws at us, we should always do our best to end up winners.
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