Teacher returns to work after having foot amputated due to flesh-eating bacteria
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Less than two weeks after a life changing disease left him with one foot, Raul Reyes was back at work teaching toddlers.
"It was hard the second day. It hit me really hard but I tell my wife and family I accepted what happened," he said.
The daycare worker says his kids are pushing him around in his wheelchair asking what they can do to help.
"I try to do wheelies," he said.
Reyes' outlook is amazing.
An ingrown toenail could be the original cause of a sudden swollen and black foot that became a life or death situation. Doctors amputated his right foot after diagnosing flesh-eating bacteria. Reyes says he hadn't been to the beach or around brackish water which is a more common place for the bacteria to be found.
RELATED: Teacher's foot amputated after contracting flesh-eating bacteria
The 26-year-old husband says his family has helped him get through this.
With no insurance, a GoFundMe page quickly raised more than enough money to fund his prosthetic foot which will be a yearlong process to be fitted and learn to use properly.
"I didn't expect this many people to help out. I tell my wife every day I'm grateful," said Reyes.
He says others can learn from him by going to a doctor quickly when signs of infection appear but there's something else we can all take away from his story.
"You always have to have a smile on your face even if it's a hard time and that's what's kept me going," said Reyes.
