Double amputee thanks the doctors and nurses that helped him walk again
Marcus Smith returned to talk with the staff that helped him recover from a devastating motorcycle accident.
By Alan Shope
Click here for updates on this story
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — A former patient returned to talk with the staff that helped him recover from a devastating motorcycle accident.
Marcus Smith wasn’t going to let anything stop him from this reunion.
On Nov. 2, 2020, Smith, a father of three, was in the accident on his way home from work. The driver of a dump truck failed to yield and hit Smith. He was pinned under the truck for nearly an hour.
The accident put Marcus in the hospital at University Health in Kansas City, Missouri, for 99 days. He underwent 20 surgeries and surviving ultimately cost having both of his legs amputated.
“I don’t really, I never have quit, never have quit,” Smith said.
His wife, Kelsie Smith, says the recovery hasn’t been easy. She says it’s a lot of hard work and a lot of communication to talk through what they’ve both been through.
The Smiths returned to University Health, to show off Marcus Smith’s new legs and to talk with the doctors and nurses that helped get him walk again.
“Marcus is just a perfect example of someone who remained optimistic,” registered nurse and Clinical Team Manager Eli Benson said.
Doctor of Nursing Practice and Director of medical and surgical services Brigid Toyne-Barfoot thinks Smith is a shining example of what’s possible.
“I think that is what success looks like,” Toyne-Barfoot said.
Marcus now spends a lot of time coaching his son’s fifth-grade football team. He said it’s his family and his love for competition that helped him get through this.
“I think that that’s what drives me every day, is the fact that I could’ve died, but I didn’t,” Smith said.
His wife said something like this teaches you not to sweat the small stuff because life is way too short.
Marcus has returned to work. He hopes to someday start a nonprofit charity that helps others that have suffered an amputation.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
