The life story of Alex Lewis is like no other. This man refused to give up on his life no matter what it took, and today, he’s thriving with the help of his loving wife Lucy Townsend, and their son.
Alex and Lucy always knew they were meant for each other. When they married and welcomed their son Sam into their life, they felt like the happiest couple on Earth. But then in 2013, around the time Sam turned two, this family’s life took a different turn.
Both Alex and Sam caught the flu, or at least they believed so. However, as the boy got better in a short period of time, Alex wasn’t feeling fine even days after he experienced the flu-like symptoms.
“Because we owned and lived in a pub and came into contact with lots of different people, I assumed it was a seasonal cold and thought it started off as man flu,” Alex told Metro.
Instead of improving, his condition worsened and he became feverish and noticed blood in his urine.
As he could feel something was very wrong, he went to the hospital where doctors told him he contracted a streptococcal infection (type A). Unfortunately, at that point, the infection penetrated deep into the tissue and the organs and caused sepsis. Alex had contracted shock syndrome, septicemia, and necrotizing fascitis – and his body was attacking itself from the inside out.
“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,” his wife Lucy told The Guardian.
Doctors’ prognoses were dull. They told the family there was just a three percent chance that Alex would survive as his face and body turned black.
“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 it happened, I think they were more in shock as they couldn’t believe something so incredibly invasive was happening so quickly,” he added.
“I don’t remember being in excruciating pain at this point, but my family remembers seeing me in absolute agony.”
It was determined that a flesh-eating bacteria was poisoning his body so doctors had to amputate his left arm up to the elbow. Sadly, as months passed by, Alex lost all of his limbs, and doctors were also forced to cut parts of his face in order to save his life.
“I can remember seeing my legs in hospital and how they were getting blacker and blacker,” Alex told The Guardian. “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.”
As Alex lost his lips, plastic surgeon Alexandra Crick took skin from his shoulder in an attempt to fix his mouth.
“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.
“The last available skin for surgery was on my shoulder,” he 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 if you imagine placing a bag in your mouth and then sewing around the edges. After the original operation, I had to have them every three or four months.”
Looking at his father, and how different he was, Sam was afraid to approach closer to him, but Lucy found a way to explain to him why his dad looked like that, which wasn’t easy as Sam was just two years old at the time.
After spending months at the hospital Alex could finally go home. The good thing was that doctors managed to save the elbow of his right arm which allowed him to have a prosthetic and be able to use his arm. Eventually, he could speak again as his lip surgery was a huge success.
“That one elbow is his whole independence,” Lucy said.
“I had to relearn everything,” Alex added. “From learning to eat, drink, put my clothes on, to learn to use a prosthesis, and to self propel a manual wheelchair.”
Today, Alex is involved in a number of tech projects which help ease the lives of disabled people. Among the rest, he has tested solar-powered, battery-assisted four-wheeled handles which have been designed by masters students at Southampton University.
Despite his condition, he’s living a quality life and is doing a lot of things, such as kayaking and climbing. In 2019, he climbed one of Africa’s tallest mountains using a specially adapted buggy.
“Since becoming an amputee, I’ve been fortunate enough to try out a number of training methods to keep my fitness up, working with physios and visiting the Help for Heroes training facilities,” he shared with Sports Management.
“I’ve had first-rate guidance, but nothing has been as effective as EMS training, especially in such a short space of time.
“It’s amazing how the machine helps me to engage muscles I haven’t felt since I lost my arms and legs,” he added.
“I feel stronger in training, daily life tasks are easier, and I’ve gained greater confidence that I can take on these challenges.”
His Wild Wheelchairs Project, besides helping improve the lives of disabled people, raises money to finance the construction and operation of a wheelchair manufacturing facility in Ethiopia.
Alex is also a motivational speaker who is happy with his life.
“I’ve lived more of a life 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,” he 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 also learned to love his dad for who he is and is proud of him.
We truly admire this brave man’s resilience. His story is proof that no matter the curveballs life throws at us, we should always do our best to end up winners.
Why Prince William was ‘concerned’ over Meghan Markle’s wedding outfit
It’s hard to believe that Prince William and Kate Middleton have been married for more than a decade. The couple’s royal wedding was naturally grand, and years later, William got to see his brother, Prince Harry, tie the knot with Meghan Markle.
The two siblings were once the greatest of friends, but we all know things have soured in recent years. It’s even said that Harry and Meghan’s marriage caused a lot of friction between the former and the future king.
The wedding of Harry and Meghan was unique for many reasons. Firstly, there was the fact that it was a former TV star from the US who was set to join the Royal Family. And remember how King Charles (then Prince Charles) walked Meghan down the aisle? It was a day to remember, that much is sure.
And yet for Prince William it reportedly wasn’t a day filled only with joy. A new bombshell claim reveals he was concerned over Meghan’s wedding attire, relating to Princess Diana.
Prince William & Meghan Markle – relationship
At that point, neither William, Kate, nor Prince Harry knew what the future would hold, or who Harry would meet just a few years later.
Harry met Meghan Markle for a blind date in 2016, and it didn’t take long before she was introduced to his family. The fact that Meghan and Kate Middleton didn’t have the best relationship has been well-documented. It’s also been claimed that Prince William and the Duchess had issues forming a good relationship, though they’re said to have gotten along well in the beginning.
In their book Finding Freedom, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand revealed many things about William and Meghan’s relationship.
Scobie and Durand claimed that before William and Meghan’s first meeting, the Suits star was “self-aware enough” to understand that both the future king and his brother were “wary of women who were more interested in their titles than their well-being.”
Therefore, Meghan pictured her first meeting with William as being a “grilling.” However, that’s not how it turned out.
“William first said to her, ‘I was looking forward to meeting the girl who has put that silly grin on my brother’s face,’” the authors wrote.
William could see that his brother had found the one. Sadly, Meghan was subjected to harsh treatment and harassment from the press, forcing Harry to release a statement in November 2016 —less than a year after they had begun dating— outlining in no uncertain terms that it was unacceptable.
“Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl”
At the time, Prince William supported his brother and Meghan, releasing his own statement shortly after. Yet while the future king showed public support for Harry and Meghan, he simultaneously “privately voiced concerns,” according to Scobie and Durand.
He was said to be worried that Harry’s relationship with Meghan was developing too fast. The authors wrote that William even discussed this with his brother, telling him: “Don’t fell you need to rush this” and, “Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl.”
Scobie and Durand continued by saying that Harry was “pissed off” that William even asked him to take it slow, while the phrase “the girl” bothered him.
Harry had little time to get Meghan up to speed with how things worked in the royal sphere. For example, the Suits actress didn’t know how to curtsy to Queen Elizabeth II in private, and even though the family welcomed her, Meghan felt isolated.
In the now-infamous Oprah Winfrey interview from 2021, Meghan explained that she “didn’t fully understand” the job.
“There was no way to understand what the day to day was going to be like,” she said at the time.
For Harry, things quickly grew frustrating. In a 2022 interview with Fox, royal expert and author Katie Nicholl, who had just released The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown, explained that the Duke felt Prince William and Kate Middleton hadn’t done their part in helping Meghan settle in.
“It was certainly Harry’s feeling that William and Kate hadn’t rolled out the red carpet as much as they might have done,” Nicholl said. “You know, there wasn’t this sort of instant welcoming of Meghan into the royal fold.”
Prince Harry & Meghan Markle – wedding
“I say in the book that William was the first to meet Meghan. And actually, he was really thrilled that Harry had met someone who he’d really fallen for. He was overjoyed when Meghan came into his life, and he fell in love with this woman,” she added.
Moreover, a friend of Harry’s told Nicholl: “Harry felt William wasn’t rolling out the red carpet for Meghan and told him so. They had a bit of a fallout, which was only resolved when Charles stepped in and asked William to make an effort.”
No matter what had happened though, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were deeply in love. In November 2017, the couple announced that they had gotten engaged, and in 2018 they tied the knot in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
As with any royal wedding, the Duke and Duchess of Susses were celebrated with a huge, costly ceremony. But Meghan’s weeks leading up to the grand day were quite stressful.
Days before the ceremony, the Daily Mail revealed that her father, Thomas Markle, had coordinated with a paparazzi photographer to stage several photos, including one where he was getting fitted for a suit before the wedding, one where he was seen reading a book about Britain, and another as he surveyed pictures of Meghan and Harry.
The pictures reportedly sold for over £100,000 ($137,000). Meghan was furious.
Thomas then initially lied to Meghan and Harry, saying that he hadn’t been involved in the staging of the photos. Ultimately, he claimed he was too embarrassed to attend the wedding, and suffered from subsequent heart troubles.
Why King Charles led Meghan Markle down the aisle
Harry and Meghan had told him explicitly not to speak to the media before their union, but Thomas didn’t listen. In the end, Meghan stated that her father would not be in attendance because he had undergone heart surgery.
As her father wasn’t in attendance, he couldn’t lead Meghan down the aisle. That’s when then-Prince Charles stepped up.
According to royal biographer Robert Hardman, Charles asked Meghan if she wanted him to escort her down the aisle. In his book Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II, Hardman wrote that Charles got a quick answer, but it wasn’t what he expected.
Meghan surprised the now-king, asking him to meet her halfway down the aisle. She wanted to make her big entrance into the chapel on her own.
“Feeling for his future daughter-in-law, the Prince of Wales offered to step in, saying he would be honored to escort Meghan up the aisle of St George’s Chapel to the altar. The reply, according to one friend, was not quite what he was expecting: ‘Can we meet halfway?’” Hardman wrote.
“Here was an indicator that this was no blushing bride, but a confident, independent woman determined to make a grand entrance on her own.”
In 2018, in the BBC documentary Prince, Son, and Heir, Harry spoke about his father, Charles, offering to walk his wife down the aisle. Harry initially said he had asked his father about it, and Charles immediately agreed.
Prince William had concerns over Meghan Markle’s wedding outfit
“I asked him to and I think he knew it was coming, and he immediately said, ‘Yes, of course, I’ll do whatever Meghan needs and I’m here to support you.’” Harry recalled. “For him, that’s a fantastic opportunity to step up and be that support, and you know, he’s our father, so of course, he’s going to be there for us.”
Harry proposed to Meghan with a custom three-stone ring. It featured diamonds from his late mother, Princess Diana’s jewelry collection. However, one year later, for the wedding, the fact that Meghan had already worn something from Diana’s jewelry collection left one person concerned: Prince William.
In his book, Spare, Harry recalled tensions between him and his brother when he and Meghan were planning the wedding. Moreover, in Catherine, The Princess of Wales: The Biography, author Robert Jobson claimed that the relationship between Harry and William had deteriorated, and even though William had been confirmed as the best man, the bond between them had “worsened.”
Prince William was allegedly not the only one in the Royal Family who felt Harry and Meghan’s relationship had developed too fast. William, it’s said, decided to reach out to his grandmother to ask for a very special assurance.
“I have been told that, still concerned about the match, he’d sought assurances from the Queen that Harry’s bride would not be wearing any of Princess Diana’s jewellery, even though his own wife was allowed to wear it,” Jobson wrote in Catherine, The Princess of Wales: The Biography, per the Mirror.
Meghan Markle “shocked” over Prince William & Kate Middleton’s latest move
“Despite sharp digs and thin skins on both sides, the wedding at Windsor in May 2018 was a spectacular success,” Jobson continued. “In public, the Royal Family were all smiles, though privately they were at daggers drawn.”
As we all know, the relationship between the Sussexes and the Waleses is far from great today. Harry and William don’t even speak to each other, and it’s safe to assume the same goes for William and Meghan.
The Duke and Duchess have focused on their business ventures in the US, but could soon get company across the pond.
According to OK!, Prince William and Kate Middleton have taken the first steps towards launching themselves in the United States. The Prince and Princess of Wales reportedly have submitted an official document to the United States Patent and Trademark Office as they aim to establish their Royal Foundation charity in the US.
According to documents seen by the news outlet, in May 2023, William and Kate initially bid to land a trademark – and Meghan isn’t happy.
“Meghan was quite shocked when she found out that Kate and William plan to do more work in America after trademarking their foundation’s brand with authorities,” the source told OK!.
“It just feels like another blow,”
“Although they have made a couple of trips to the US, it’s not really part of their territory, and now Meghan feels they could be moving in on her turf.”
According to the source, the Prince and Princess of Wales’s inclusion of “healthcare services relating to mental health” in their trademark application could lead to a ‘turf war’ with the Sussexes.
“For Meghan, it just feels like another blow, as Harry is making more of a life for himself in America and doing big events without her, like the one he did in New York last week,” the insider told OK!.
“And she already knows how popular Kate and William are in the US and with their own Hollywood popularity seemingly dwindling, she doesn’t feel comfortable with them making any trips across the pond right now because they will no doubt be a huge fanfare.”
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