Introducing Georgia, a courageous and tenacious shepherd mix who embarked on a challenging journey filled with both heartache and triumph. Initially found at a remote gas station, Georgia’s future appeared uncertain. But fate took an unexpected turn when her pregnancy was discovered, offering her a fresh start, albeit with its own set of hurdles.
Following her rescue, Georgia, a petite shepherd mix, received a thorough veterinary examination that revealed her impending motherhood, with the puppies expected in about a month. As days passed, Georgia acclimated to her new environment, basking in the freedom and comfort of a welcoming backyard.
Her excitement peaked on the fifteenth day as she eagerly explored her whelping pool. However, tragedy struck on the twenty-fifth day when she went into premature labor. The puppies, too tiny to latch, faced vulnerability and struggled to survive. Two of Georgia’s pups sadly didn’t make it past birth. In a desperate bid to save Georgia’s life, an emergency C-section and spaying were performed.
While Georgia physically recuperated from the ordeal, emotional scars lingered as she yearned for her lost babies. In an effort to offer her comfort and purpose, three motherless newborn kittens were introduced to her on the twenty-seventh day. Despite her grief, Georgia’s nurturing instincts kicked in, and she wholeheartedly embraced the kittens as her own. Even though not all the kittens could latch, Georgia diligently cared for them, bottle-feeding them until they could thrive independently.
Regrettably, one of the kittens passed away, leaving two healthy and thriving babies, named Graffiti and Gumball. Georgia’s dedication to her surviving offspring remained steadfast, providing them with the love and care they needed to flourish. Day by day, the bond between Georgia and her kittens grew stronger, and they found solace and contentment in each other’s presence.
On the thirty-second day, Georgia proudly christened her babies—Graffiti, Gumball, and the newest addition, Goober. The little family flourished, with the kittens opening their eyes, gaining weight, and reveling in the love and protection of their devoted mother.
However, on the forty-fifth day, a new challenge arose as Georgia developed a visible tumor. This brave shepherd mix was about to embark on a journey of cancer treatment and recovery, temporarily separating her from her beloved kittens. Despite this setback, Georgia’s prognosis was positive, and a full recovery was anticipated.
Day 50 marked a new chapter for Georgia as she transitioned to her adoptive home under the name Milo. Her new dad, @torbazorb14, provided her with love, care, and unwavering support throughout her cancer treatment. Day by day, Georgia’s strength and resilience shone through, and on day 70, she completed her final chemo treatment. This resilient little lady, who had endured abandonment, loss, and medical challenges, emerged victorious.
As Georgia continued her recovery, her kittens rapidly grew. They reached a healthy weight of 2.5 pounds and reveled in newfound confidence. While the author, a self-proclaimed dog person, acknowledged missing the mischievous kittens, they celebrated the happy endings awaiting them.
On day 95, a long-awaited reunion unfolded between Georgia (now Milo) and her kitten Gumball, now known as Toby. However, reality didn’t quite align with fairy-tale expectations. Milo displayed a hint of fear, serving as a reminder that animals express their emotions honestly. Nevertheless, it marked a genuine and joyous ending for Milo and Toby.
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.
Leave a Reply