A US man had to get both his legs amputated after he accidentally burning himself on a pan during a camping trip. 40-year-old Max Armstrong was camping with his friends in Colorado in December 2024 when he burned his thumb on a pan while cooking pasta for dinner.
He didn’t think much of it but after a few days his left leg started to swell up, his toenails began turning purple.
A week later, he was taken to a hospital. Doctors confirmed that he was infected with strep A bacteria in his burn and it had developed into sepsis – which can be life-threatening if not treated properly.
Max was placed into an induced coma for six days. When he woke up, his feet were completely black and doctors recommended amputation.
Legs turned black
After a three-hour operation, both his legs were amputated. With a month of recovering in the hospital, he was able to go home but had to learn how to live life in a wheelchair.
“It was a hunting trip with friends that turned into a bit of a nightmare. I grabbed a skillet wrong and my thumb touched the hot part, I could feel it burning as I moved it to the table but I didn’t want to drop it. I didn’t think much of it as I have gotten burns, scrapes and cuts from living in the outdoors and being outdoors my whole life. After dinner, I cleaned up the burn, put a bandage on it and left it," he said recalling what happened on the trip.
Max was shocked when he woke up from the induced coma. “Initially when I woke up, I thought my legs were still there and then I came to realise that they weren’t. I felt down my leg and realised that my legs weren’t there, I asked the nurse and she confirmed that I had my legs amputated. She told me that my family was waiting for me and kept on reminding me of them which anchored me," he added.
{{/usCountry}}Max was shocked when he woke up from the induced coma. “Initially when I woke up, I thought my legs were still there and then I came to realise that they weren’t. I felt down my leg and realised that my legs weren’t there, I asked the nurse and she confirmed that I had my legs amputated. She told me that my family was waiting for me and kept on reminding me of them which anchored me," he added.
{{/usCountry}}(Also read: Chinese woman discovers pregnancy hours before giving birth despite being told she was infertile)