How to Find Your Way Out of Hell: Quadruple Amputee Alex Lewis
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There are people in this world who just blow your socks off with their courage and strength despite the massive adversities they had to go through.
Alex Lewis, our guest in this interview, is one of those people.
Seeing the following photo of Alex will undoubtedly raise a few questions for you, such as: What in the world happened to him?

Before Alex lost his limbs and his lips, he was—as he describes himself—just a regular guy, with a partner and a two-year-old son, who ran a restaurant and who was primarily a stay-at-home dad.
All this, however, changed in November 2013 when he fell ill. In the beginning, he and his wife thought he just had a common cold. But as the days progressed, things got worse and worse until one day he collapsed and had to be immediately rushed to the hospital.
Now, I will leave Alex to tell you more of this story in the interview, but what Alex contracted was a Strep A infection.
Strep A is a group of bacteria commonly found in the throat and skin. Most people would simply get a sore throat with Strep A, and that’s it. But, for some reason, Strep A led to toxic shock syndrome for Alex, which further led to septicaemia—another term used to describe blood poisoning.
This eventually led to the loss of both his arms, both his legs, and even his lips, over the course of many months.
I know, it’s shocking to read—and even more so to hear Alex share it.
However, what might come as a surprise to many is what Alex says in the interview and has repeated several times in all his other interviews: that he lives a great life today.
“Meaning” is the word that has gotten him through hell to the place where he thrives today in his life.
Today, Alex Lewis is known for being a source of inspiration and an example for others to show that, no matter what has happened and no matter what you have lost—even if it is all your limbs—life can still be good.
Of course, this does not mean that the road there would not be hard. It certainly has been really hard for Alex.
But, once again, if any of you reading this are struggling or suffering at this time, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
I sincerely hope that you will find the same knowledge and wisdom that Alex has learned from his struggles and adversities to be helpful in bettering your own life.
EP 032 - How to Find Your Way Out of Hell: Quadruple Amputee Alex Lewis
“I was told early on that with amputation 95% is mental and 5% is physical. If you get your head straight, the rest will follow.”
- Alex Lewis Tweet
Some of the Questions:
- What happened in November 2013 when you thought you only had a common cold? What did those days seem like and when did you know something was not right?
- Is there something you would say to the “old you” (the one with limbs) that you feel could have helped you to live a better life?
- I read somewhere that you really liked the book Man's Search for Meaning by Víctor Frankl. What parts of the book spoke to you the most?
What You Will Learn from this Episode:
- When and why Alex decided to fight and not remain a victim
- How he has learned to accept the changes that had happened to his body and to feel okay with them
- Why Alex received a personal invitation from Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay
“I don’t want people to think, ‘Oh God, he is disabled and he can’t do this and he can’t do that.’ I want people to see what I can do, not what I can’t do.”
- Alex Lewis Tweet
Resources Mentioned:
- – Alex Lewis Trust (In November 2013 Alex Lewis collapsed and was rushed to Winchester Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. He was 33 years old with a partner and son of 3 years old. His only symptom leading up to this was the common cold and a sore throat.)
- – Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (This seminal book, which has been called “one of the outstanding contributions to psychological thought” by Carl Rogers and “one of the great books of our time” by Harold Kushner, has been translated into more than fifty languages and sold over sixteen million copies. “An enduring work of survival literature,” according to the New York Times, Viktor Frankl’s riveting account of his time in the Nazi concentration camps, and his insightful exploration of the human will to find meaning in spite of the worst adversity, has offered solace and guidance to generations of readers since it was first published in 1946.)
- – When Breath Becomes Air (At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated.)
- – The Extraordinary Case of Alex Lewis (Documentary. “The Extraordinary Case of Alex Lewis” charts the story of a man fighting to rebuild his relationships after a devastating infection took his limbs, parts of his face and his independence.)

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You may also like these episodes:
- – EP 029 – The Good Life with Kristina Paltén, a Woman with an Extraordinary Life
- – EP 028: Life After Prison – Craig Stanland: Losing Everything You Have and How to Start Over
- – EP 026 – How to Handle Dark Times with Dr. Martin Inderbitzin, Pancreatic Cancer Survivor
Question about this episode: What did you think of the interview with Alex Lewis? Any lessons or takeaways or anything else you’d like to share with us?
Did you enjoy this episode?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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