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A young father who lost three limbs when a common cold developed into a flesh-eating bug is finally back home with his family after months in hospital.
Alex Lewis is adapting to life back at home in Hampshire, learning to get about in his wheelchair after a bacterial infection claimed both his legs and left arm.
The 34-year-old battled against the odds to make a remarkable recovery after doctors gave him a three per cent chance of survival.
His ordeal began last November when the former pub landlord feared he had caught a common cold. Instead, tests revealed Mr Lewis had contracted Group A streptococcus.
Alex Lewis (pictured with his partner, Lucy, and son, Sam) had to have both his legs and one of his arms amputated after he contracted a flesh-eating bug. He also lost his lips to the illness
The normally harmless bacteria is usually filtered out by the body but in the father-of-one's case, it developed into septicaemia and toxic shock syndrome.
Mr Lewis's major organs shut down and he spent a week in a coma as the deadly bacteria wreaked havoc through his body.
Doctors had to amputate both his legs above the knee and his left arm after his feet, fingertips, arms, lips, nose and part of his ears turned black.
He also lost part of his nose, his lips and underwent a pioneering 16-hour operation to reconstruct his remaining arm in a bid to save it.
Medics told his partner Lucy Townsend - who runs The Greyhound pub in Stockbridge, Hampshire - he wouldn’t make it.
But just six months later, the 34-year-old is back home and playing with his three-year-old son Sam.
Despite his ordeal, Mr Lewis says he could not be happier as he has now moved into an adapted home with his family and beloved Labrador Holly.
Mr Lewis, from Stockbridge, said: ‘I feel desperately positive. I feel much stronger and every day is getting easier.
‘I can’t put into words how happy I am to be at home with my family and see my little boy - I’ve missed it all so much.
‘The first thing Sam was itching to do was to get me into his bedroom so I could see all his toys. It was lovely.
Mr Lewis (pictured with his partner and son before his illness) thought he had developed a cold in November but he had actually contracted strep A which wreaked havoc throughout his body and left him close to death
Mr Lewis (pictured in hospital) was give just a three per cent chance of survival when he was in hospital
WHAT IS STREP A?
Group A streptococci is a bacteria commonly found in the throat and on the skin.
The vast majority of infections are relatively mild illnesses, such as strep throat and impetigo.
Occasionally, however, the bacteria can become life-threatening if it enters parts of the body where it is not usually found - such as the blood, muscles or the lungs.
The bacteria is often spread through direct contact with the mucus of an infected person and through contact with infected skin wounds and sores.
Invasive group A streptococcal disease, which may occur when the bacteria gets past the body’s defences, is a severe and sometimes life-threatening infection in which the bacteria has invaded parts of the body, such as the blood, deep muscle and fat tissue or the lungs.
Two of the most severe forms of invasive group A streptococcal disease are called necrotising fasciitis (infection of muscle and fat tissue) and toxic shock syndrome (a rapidly progressing infection causing injury to the major organs).
The early signs and symptoms of necrotising fasciitis include fever, severe pain and swelling, and redness at the wound site.
The early symptoms of toxic shock syndrome may include fever, dizziness, confusion, low blood pressure, rash and abdominal pain.
The vast majority of infections are relatively mild illnesses, such as strep throat and impetigo.
Occasionally, however, the bacteria can become life-threatening if it enters parts of the body where it is not usually found - such as the blood, muscles or the lungs.
The bacteria is often spread through direct contact with the mucus of an infected person and through contact with infected skin wounds and sores.
Invasive group A streptococcal disease, which may occur when the bacteria gets past the body’s defences, is a severe and sometimes life-threatening infection in which the bacteria has invaded parts of the body, such as the blood, deep muscle and fat tissue or the lungs.
Two of the most severe forms of invasive group A streptococcal disease are called necrotising fasciitis (infection of muscle and fat tissue) and toxic shock syndrome (a rapidly progressing infection causing injury to the major organs).
The early signs and symptoms of necrotising fasciitis include fever, severe pain and swelling, and redness at the wound site.
The early symptoms of toxic shock syndrome may include fever, dizziness, confusion, low blood pressure, rash and abdominal pain.
‘Our whole life has been turned upside down but for me, there’s a lot of clarity.
‘I feel I’ve experienced life and death and I am just so lucky to be here.’
With support from members of the public, the family home now has everything Mr Lewis needs to be able to get his independence back.
And although he has no feeling in his right hand, doctors say the nerve growth is impressive.
The weight of his first prosthetic arm painfully rubs his shoulder with each movement but he is slowly learning to use the metal hook as a hand.
Next week, his new wheelchair will arrive and he hopes to wheel himself on to the ward at Salisbury District Hospital, Wiltshire, in July to have his lips reconstructed.
The golf fanatic is also determined to take his first steps by the end of the summer.
But for now, completing basic tasks like getting into bed, climbing on and off the sofa and using the bathroom are major tests of physical and mental strength.
Days after returning home Mr Lewis broke his arm trying to push himself up and also fell backwards out of his chair and hit his head on the kitchen floor.
He said: ‘On top of everything else, I went and broke my arm.
‘I just rolled over one day and tried to push myself up on my stump and heard a snap.
‘The thing is, if you are tired and weak one day, you’ve still got to do it.
Mr Lewis is soon to have surgery to rebuild his lips to allow him to eat and speak normally
Mr Lewis hopes he will soon learn to use his prosthetic arm and that he will be able to walk on prosthetic legs
‘You have to eat and use the bathroom. Just getting around the house is a real effort.
'When I whacked my head, my best mate was out in the garden and I shouted for him but he didn’t hear me.
‘All I could do was lie there on my back for a bit like an upturned tortoise.
‘Luckily my new wheelchair has anti tippers to stop that from happening but that’s all part of it, it will happen loads of times.
‘You have to get yourself up and get back on with it - but using a prosthetic arm I’m not used to and an arm that’s broken isn’t straightforward.'I feel I have experienced life and death and I am just so lucky to be here'
- Alex Lewis
‘You have to take the rough with the smooth. Ultimately if I was in this position in two years’ time I’d be heartbroken.
‘But I will walk again and I will use my arm again.’
Since coming home, Mr Lewis’s best friend Chris Bagley has become his full time carer.
The pair, best friends since they were 14, constantly come up with creative ways to make life easier.
For instance, Mr Bagley has helped him adapt a fork for his prosthetic arm and built a shelf so Mr Lewis can dispense his own shampoo.
However, not being able to fit anything bigger than a French fry in his mouth is one thing that gets to Mr Lewis.
But after lip surgery next month, he will go to a specialist unit in Roehampton, south west London, for ten weeks to learn skills to regain his independence.
This includes taking his first steps on prosthetic legs.Mr Lewis says he is delighted to be back at home with his partner, Lucy, and his son, Sam
He said: ‘Words cannot describe how much I can’t wait to get walking.
‘All Sam talks about now is “daddy when you get your legs you can kick a ball about in the garden” and “when you get your legs you can do this, that and the other”.
‘The frustration is when I watch Sam playing in the garden out of the window and I can’t play with him.
‘To think I could be walking by the end of the summer is just incredible.
‘But it doesn’t take anything spectacular to make me feel great. It’s these simple things, the normal things that make me so happy.
‘Just the other day Chris and I were sat here watching the golf, like mates do, and that was a lovely feeling.
‘It was just like the old days when we used to kick back, and at that point there wasn’t a care in the world.
‘But despite what has changed, I’m not bitter or angry. I’m proud of the fact I don’t think I’m mentally any different to how I was when I went into hospital.
‘I wouldn’t change anything - no way.’
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