SURPRISE, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) – A nurse in Arizona is adjusting to his new normal after losing his leg to a rare bacterial infection.
A few months ago, 49-year-old Ed Rivas was vacationing in Florida with his family when he cut his foot on something.
He didn’t think much of it, but when he got back home to Arizona, his foot swelled up and turned purple.
He went to a nearby hospital and was told he had a serious infection that had spread to his bloodstream.
Within days, doctors told Rivas they needed to amputate the lower half of his left leg in order to save his life.
“They did a total of four surgeries, and the first three surgeries were to save the foot and rid it of infection,” Rivas said. “I was in the hospital for 15 days, but I don’t remember all 15 days.”
Though he has spent the last 16 years helping others as a nurse, Rivas is now the one in need of assistance.
It’s a transition that he admits has not been easy.
“Everything takes a lot longer,” Rivas said. “Getting dressed takes longer, going to the bathroom takes longer, getting here and getting there takes longer.”
Rivas, who is a husband and father, cannot work right now, which has created financial challenges for his family.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay the bills.
Rivas said he’s determined to get back to helping others.
“I hope to get a prosthetic, and I do plan on going back to work without any restrictions,” Rivas said. “My goal is to get back to work.”
Still, even with new challenges, his wife is happy to have him by her side.
“He went through so much in such a little time I wasn’t sure he was coming home, honestly,” said his wife, Maria Rivas.
Ed Rivas said he still does not know what he cut his foot on in Florida in the first place.
According to the GoFundMe page, Ed Rivas contracted a bacteria known as MRSA, or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
It is a type of staph bacteria that causes difficult-to-treat infections.
Doctors told him what he experienced is extremely rare, but it’s good he went to the ER when he did.
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