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Double amputee's inspirational recovery
Kimberly Kuizon reports
SARASOTA, Fla. - Howard Young is part of "The Dream Team" at the City of Sarasota's Solid Waste Division. You have to be strong to do what he does every day, and if you take a close look, you can see Young's strength stand out.
"As long as you got the fight to do anything that you are willing to do, keep fighting," he told FOX 13.
Howard knows a thing or two about fighting.
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He’s a Type 2 Diabetic, and he almost died after catching pneumonia and COVID-19 in 2020. During that battle, he developed blood clots and woke up to a life-altering change.
"They woke me up to tell me I had to have my legs amputated," Young said.
He refused to let that keep him down, and he began the painful process of learning how to walk again.
"I told him, ‘I hate this wheelchair, help me get out of this wheelchair,’" said Young.
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He eventually transitioned from the wheelchair to prosthetic legs, and Young returned to work less than a year later.
"I was missing a link to my chain. This is my family, so when I got that link back it was what I was missing the day-to-day things," he said.
He started back in the office, moved to dispatch, and within a few months, he was back on the truck.
"I love being back to work. It’s something to do like a strengthening of the mind and body," Young said. "You get to meet new people and let them know what happened and everybody just asks questions, and I just give them answers."
From the beginning, his co-workers were by his side.
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"He’s an inspiration to everyone. When he walks in the door, he brightens up everyone’s day and mood," said Jonathan Williamson, the solid waste supervisor with the City of Sarasota.
Young has another goal that he's working to achieve.
"I’m working to get back to being me as Howard Young driving a garbage truck again," he said.
Getting back in the driver’s seat of the truck will take time, but he has proven his strength can overcome major obstacles.
"Never give up hope. Never give up on yourself and your surrounding community, because it’s always someone out there that will fight for you. You just have to fight for yourself first," he said.
Young also receives support from the Hanger Clinic in Sarasota, and he is working to talk to others who face amputations to let them know they can overcome anything.