Alex Lewis is a man who truly embodies the idea of refusing to give up on life. In November 2013, the father of one caught what he believed was simply “man flu.” However, his illness quickly developed into toxic shock syndrome, which had devastating consequences.
A flesh-eating infection was attacking his body, and doctors had only one option to save his life: amputating his limbs. He was given just a three-percent chance of survival, but Lewis was determined to make it. He fought against the odds to achieve a remarkable recovery, and today, he has proven his skeptics wrong and is living his best life with his wife, Lucy Townsend, and his son, Sam.
This is the incredible story of Alex Lewis.
It is easy to complain about small things in our everyday lives. Maybe your morning coffee was a bit cold, the bus was late, or that TV show you watched last night wasn’t as good as you expected.
Of course, it is okay to complain sometimes—we all live different lives. However, at the same time, it is important that once in a while, we pause and appreciate what we have, even if our situation is not ideal.
Alex Lewis
From now on, every time I feel like I do not have the energy to complete a small task—such as doing the dishes—or feel like complaining about minor problems, I will think of Alex Lewis. The father of one went through a deeply traumatic experience with his family, and his life changed forever in 2013.
What he thought was a simple cold turned into a life-threatening condition, but against all odds, Lewis survived. Today, he has shown that a strong fighting spirit can achieve incredible things, such as climbing a mountain—without arms or legs.
Alex Lewis, from Stockbridge in Hampshire, England, and his wife Lucy Townsend are happily living their lives together.
In 2013, they had settled down, were raising their then-two-year-old son Sam, and ran the Greyhound pub—a former Michelin Pub of the Year—and the King’s Arms in nearby Lockerley. Alex was an interior designer and builder by profession and enjoyed going to the pub with friends and playing golf.
It seemed like nothing could stop the 32-year-old from enjoying life with his family and friends. Then, in November 2013, everything fell apart. Alex caught a severe cold, which his wife Lucy initially thought was “man flu.” Both Alex and his son Sam became ill, but it did not seem serious at first. A little rest and sleep, they thought, would be enough.
Infection penetrated deep into his tissues and organs
“Because we owned and lived in a pub and came into contact with many different people, I assumed it was a seasonal cold and thought it started off as man flu,” Alex Lewis told Metro.
However, Alex did not improve.
Instead, he developed a fever and began passing blood in his urine. His skin turned purple, and by then, Alex and Lucy realized this was no ordinary cold.
It was later discovered that Alex had contracted a streptococcal infection (type A). On November 17, 2013, he was rushed to hospital in Winchester, England, where doctors found the infection had penetrated deep into his tissues and organs. It had triggered sepsis, a life-threatening condition that can cause organ failure. He had also developed toxic shock syndrome, septicemia, and necrotizing fasciitis—his body was attacking itself from within.
The family’s life changed within hours. Speaking to The Guardian, his wife Lucy recalled the devastating moment at the hospital when she thought Alex would die.
“I called an ambulance, and within eight minutes they were there. At the hospital, we went straight into resuscitation, and I was told to say goodbye. His kidneys were shutting down, and they were going to put him on life support,”
she recalled. Alex said arriving at the hospital was the last thing he remembered clearly, after which everything became a “blur.”
Doctors determined Alex had only a three-percent chance of survival within days of his arrival. The skin on his arms, legs, and part of his face had turned black.
A flesh-eating bug poisoned his body
“They were going to turn my life support off, but they wanted to give me one more night to see if I improved, and they wanted to give my family a chance to say goodbye,” Alex told Metro.
“I cannot imagine what Lucy and my mum were going through.
“Having spoken to them since, I think they were more in shock, as they could not believe something so incredibly invasive was happening so quickly,” he added.
“I don’t remember being in excruciating pain at that point, but my family remembers seeing me in absolute agony.”
Alex’s limbs had been infected with a flesh-eating bacteria that began to poison his body. At first, the infection had not yet reached his vital organs, but doctors knew it eventually would. He was told they had no choice but to amputate his left arm above the elbow once he was off life support.
“It was a case of ‘this arm is killing me, so it has to go,’” Alex recalled.
But it did not end with one arm. Over the following months, Alex had to have all of his limbs amputated, as well as parts of his face removed. “I can remember seeing my legs in hospital and how they were getting blacker and blacker,” he said. “The blackness was creeping up towards my waist. I don’t remember seeing my left arm in that condition, but I can remember my legs vividly.”
Alex Lewis received skin from his shoulder to his lips
As parts of Alex’s face, mainly his lip, had been infected, he required reconstructive surgery.
Salisbury-based plastic surgeon Alexandra Crick performed the operation, using skin from his shoulder to reconstruct parts of his lips. Lewis described it as “brutal.”
“It would take me about an hour to eat a sandwich at night, and that was with the help of the nurse,” he told the Daily Mail.
Lewis became the first person to undergo surgery to cover both his upper and lower lips at the same time using a single piece of skin.
“The last available skin for surgery was on my shoulder,” Lewis explained. “So they replaced the temporary flap with that. All my other skin had to be used for grafts or was scarred.”
“Having my bottom and top lip done at the same time like this was a world first. It’s one piece of skin, and it was like placing a bag in your mouth and sewing around the edges. After the original operation, I had to have more every three or four months,” Lewis added.
His face was almost unrecognizable after surgery, and his son Sam was initially too scared to approach him.
Alex Lewis – life after near-death infection
“It helped that he was so young when it happened. A lot of the more graphic details passed him by,” Alex told The Guardian. Lucy added that she explained what happened to Sam in child-friendly terms.
“We talk about Power Rangers a lot in our house, and we said Alex was going to be a red Power Ranger. That’s how I could explain it to a two-year-old—that his arms were coming off and being replaced. For a two- or three-year-old, that was quite cool.”
After months, Alex was finally able to leave the hospital, though life for him and his family would be very different. Fortunately, doctors were able to save his right arm at the elbow, which proved crucial. He raised thousands of pounds for prosthetic arms that allowed him to eat using metal pincers.
Meanwhile, the surgery to rebuild his lips was successful, and today Alex can speak as clearly as he could before the ordeal.
“That one elbow is his whole independence,” Lucy said.
“I had to relearn everything,” Alex said. “From eating and drinking to dressing myself, learning to use prosthetics, and self-propelling a manual wheelchair.”
Living without arms or legs was extremely difficult, but his son Sam became a major inspiration in helping him regain independence. As he adjusted to his new life, Alex also realized he wanted to help others.
Raising money to build a wheelchair factory in Ethiopia
He and his wife established The Alex Lewis Trust to support his rehabilitation and help him achieve a more independent life.
At the same time, Lewis began focusing on helping others, especially disabled people. Alongside working as a motivational speaker, he also became involved in several technology projects.
Alex contributed to prosthetics research and testing, including solar-powered, battery-assisted mobility devices designed by engineering students at Southampton University. He also had the opportunity to kayak around the southern tip of Greenland and along a 300km stretch of the Orange River in Namibia.
“Since becoming an amputee, I’ve been fortunate enough to try different training methods to maintain my fitness, working with physiotherapists and visiting Help for Heroes facilities,” Lewis said.
“I’ve had excellent guidance, but nothing has been as effective as EMS training, especially in such a short time. It’s amazing how the machine helps me engage muscles I haven’t felt since I lost my arms and legs,” he added.
“I feel stronger in training, daily tasks are easier, and I have greater confidence to take on challenges.”
“We aim to improve the lives of mobility-impaired people globally”
In addition, Alex helped establish the Wild Wheelchairs Project, which aims to improve the lives of people with mobility impairments worldwide. The project also raises funds to build and operate a wheelchair manufacturing facility in Ethiopia.
In 2019, he climbed one of Africa’s tallest mountains using a specially adapted buggy.
“We successfully cycled through the Simien Mountain range in Ethiopia and ultimately up to 4,200 meters on Ras Dashen, their highest mountain,” Lewis explained.
“We disembarked at that point, and I climbed the final 300 meters to the summit.”
He added: “We used this opportunity to highlight the exclusion of disabled people in Ethiopian society. We have also set up The Wild Wheelchairs Project, where we aim to improve the lives of mobility-impaired people globally.”
Lucy, Alex, and Sam’s lives have changed significantly since 2013, but as Lucy says, she does not see his disability. She clarified that she is not his caretaker, but his wife.
So how is Alex doing today? Despite losing his limbs, he remains the same person and does not let his disability define him. Instead, he continues to help others and spread awareness about his journey.
This is Alex Lewis today
In fact, Lewis says the year he lost his limbs was “the best year” of his life.
“I’ve lived more in the past four years than I did in the previous 33, and it’s made me realize how much I love Lucy and Sam,” Alex told Metro.
“There was so much I regretted not doing when I had arms and legs, but I am not letting that happen again. I would not change anything, not in a heartbeat.”
Sam was initially afraid of his father while he was in hospital, but over time he came to understand that his dad is still the same loving person despite his disabilities. “He’s fine about everything now, and everything I do is to show that disability is not a problem. You just have to push on and find a way,” Alex said. “He sees me as quite resilient, and as he gets older, he just accepts that this is me.
“I don’t want him to see me as someone who needs help, and because I am disabled, I get to bring home some cool equipment for him to play with,” he added.
There are no words to fully express the admiration for Alex Lewis. He is living proof that it is never too late to keep going and live the life you want, despite disabilities.
