Double amputee from Long Island praises firefighters, health workers who saved her life
LYNBROOK, Long Island (WABC) -- A double amputee reunited with firefighters and healthcare professionals Tuesday to thank them for saving her life.
It was a reunion under very different circumstances.
Tuesday marked the first time Patricia Lewis had seen the heroic firefighters from the Lakeview Fire Department since they saved her life on April 10.
That's when a blaze destroyed her Rockville Centre home, where she was inside with her niece.
"As soon as she opened the door, we could see the orange glow and she said 'oh my god the basement is on fire,' we had to go and get out," Lewis said.
But first, Lewis had to put on her prosthetic legs.
Lewis, a former registered nurse at Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, lost both of her legs due to complications from Type-II diabetes in 2018.
She'd spend the next few months at Lynbrook Restorative Therapy and Nursing, where the team taught her how to navigate her new legs.
She's grateful, because when that fire broke out in her home just a few months ago, she was able to put them on fast and get out.
"I can only imagine -- I don't even want to go there," Lewis said. "If I had to get in my wheelchair I could have wheeled myself to the door but I would have to wait for someone to wheel me out and that would have been too much."
So today, she gave a big thank you to everyone who helped her to get to this point.
"I try not to sweat the small stuff because in the twinkle of an eye, who knows what can happen," Lewis said. "We have to be grateful everyday and appreciate everything you have."
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