“Being around people who care made me realize my problems were temporary”
It’s a moment Frank will never shake from his memory. The moment his life changed forever.
“I was out for a run late one winter night,” he explains. “I stopped to rest under a tree and felt my legs lock up on me. I couldn’t move.”
Panic set in as Frank realized he’d forgotten his phone at home. The temperature plummeted to single digits as he sat helplessly overnight. By the time help arrived, Frank was hypothermic. A doctor delivered unthinkable news: Frank’s frostbitten legs would require a double amputation.
“I spent five months in the hospital,” he says. “By the time I checked out, I no longer had a job or a place to live. I was in constant pain with no one to assist me. That started to change when I came to City Rescue Mission..”
Indeed, you met Frank with compassion at the lowest point in his life. You gave him the support system he needed to overcome tremendous physical, mental and spiritual challenges. But it all took time.
Safe at the Mission, Frank adjusted to life in a wheelchair. He embraced the recovery and vocational programs and developed healthy coping skills. It turned out Frank needed to process the loss of two loved ones. In a way, he’d been trying to literally outrun his grief that cold winter night.
Your support of our Recovery Program provided job-skills training, housing assistance and life-altering access to medical resources. Recently, Frank became a proud graduate of our Recovery Program. He’s excited to see what the future may hold.
“Being around people who care made me realize my problems were temporary,” Frank says. “Today I have employment opportunities. I have a sense of purpose. And I just got fitted for permanent prosthetic legs.”
Frank is gaining momentum on the path back to hope. He feels blessed for the support of those who have been walking alongside him every step of the way.
