Moving Mountains With a Positive Attitude: Paul’s Journey

It was just another day on the job: Paul Nelson was doing his routine supervising, making sure everything was going smoothly for his railroad crew. The only difference this time is that Paul wouldn’t be returning to work for at least a year- he would spend the next few months fighting for his life and the rest of the year learning to live life without his left leg. 

Paul graduated from Fosston High School in 1992, and has been heavily involved in the community ever since. He joined the Lengby-Fosston Knightriders snowmobile club in 1994, and has been a trail coordinator for a total of 15 years. Paul also spends his time teaching young snowmobilers the proper safety and techniques that are necessary for the sport. In September of 1999, Paul married his best friend Liza, and they have since brought three handsome young men into the world. Their oldest son Gunnar is 15, middle son Warren is 13, and youngest son Parker is eight. 

In mid-April of this year, Paul was working in Chicago as a work equipment supervisor for the Canadian Pacific railroad, who he’s been with for 16 years, when he became extremely ill. At first Paul thought he had caught a bad cold- he’s always been in good health: no prior health issues, great cholesterol and blood pressure, no diabetes. But, after being so sick that he had to have a coworker drive him home, he knew something was wrong and his wife immediately brought him to Sanford hospital’s emergency room in Bemidji, MN. By this time, Paul’s leg was gangrene, a condition that arises when body tissue dies due to a loss of blood supply. 

After running several tests, the Sanford doctors determined Paul had developed necrotizing fasciitis. This is a rare, deadly flesh-eating bacterial infection that spreads rapidly and kills the body’s soft tissue. His condition became too severe, and he was then transferred to Sanford’s Fargo, ND ICU. There, doctors confirmed that he indeed had this disease, and although unsure, believed he likely got it from either bumping his leg at work, or from a spider bite. There were three different, very aggressive bacterias that were eating away the flesh on Paul’s leg.

Early on in his stay at Fargo, Paul’s kidneys started to fail due to being overloaded with stress and toxins. He was put on 24 hour dialysis (a process to eliminate waste and toxins from the blood), and did that for 12 days straight. He was then able to do dialysis three days a week, until one day when the nephrologist came in and asked the nurse why he was still on it. He told her to unhook Paul from the machine, as his kidneys were healthy again and he didn’t need further dialysis. Liza recalls tears running down Paul’s cheeks as they both rejoiced over this unforeseen miracle. 

By day three in Fargo, Paul was still asleep, and Liza was being informed on his condition by all of the doctors. After being shown his labs and charts, she felt hopeful as his charts were showing a tiny bit of improvement. She recalls one of the doctors reacting to her hope: “He said, ‘His labs are so bad that they’re just bad… Any bit of improvement doesn’t make a difference because it’s overall just bad. Everything is very critical; this is hour to hour, ma’am,’ And I just dropped to my knees.”

On day three, Paul was taken into surgery around 10 P.M. Surgeons told Liza that they were going to be debriding (removing damaged tissue), and they would do all that they could to save the leg. There were no nerves, no muscle, and barely any skin left on Paul’s leg. They determined that if the leg did not kill him, it would be a dead stump he would have to drag around and wouldn’t be able to walk on.

They decided that Paul’s leg needed to be amputated, and the surgeons removed it a few days after his arrival in Fargo. Paul had a total of five surgeries: debriding, leg removal, two revision surgeries to shape the bone, and one emergency surgery to mend a bleed from the stump. He spent a total of two months (64 days) in the hospitals- one month in Fargo and the second in Bemidji for rehab. Not only did a rare disease threaten to take Paul’s life, but he had developed a bleeding ulcer in his stomach caused by medications and stress. 

Post-surgery wasn’t always the easiest thing for Paul, but he pushed through it like a champion, thanks to his own will and the support from those around him. He had the best team of doctors from every department in the hospital on his case and a loving family to care for him. His therapist in Fargo had him attempt to stand up on his one foot. He became frustrated because he couldn’t do it- everything else up to that point he could do but now he felt defeated. She said, “You need to settle down and cheer up. Do you realize how close to being dead you were? Just because you can’t stand up today doesn’t mean you won’t stand up tomorrow, so just get over it.”

Being that Paul was in the hospital for so long, it was hard for them as a family to be so far apart. Liza spent almost the full two months staying by Paul’s side while their sons were with family members. Despite their dad being in such a tough condition, the boys were very strong and held up through all of it. Liza recalls their youngest son, Parker, being especially supportive: “He said, ‘He’s okay, he has people taking care of him, he’s gonna have this new robot leg and I can help him learn to walk. He’ll be just like Iron Man!’ He even brought his dad an Iron Man blanket that he kept on his hospital bed.” Gunnar went into “man-of-the-house” mode, and was willing to help out with anything that he could, and Warren was the little lover, trying to make everyone happy. 

When asked how this experience has affected her personally, Liza glanced at Paul and said, “I’ve always thought we’ve had a close relationship, but now it’s so much closer. It does change you, to have all of that almost gone... you realize how much you take for granted- just sitting there holding hands while he was sleeping and all of those other tiny things.” 

Although they aren’t able to be at their home, they’re happy to be together as a family again. Since their own home (an older farm house) doesn’t accommodate Paul’s new lifestyle as it is not handicap accessible, they are currently living in Liza’s parent’s finished garage that has living quarters that include three large bedrooms, a living room, and kitchen. There will be a benefit for Paul in September, and they hope to raise money for medical bills and possible remodeling of their home. The couple had been saving up to eventually build a new home, but had to put all of that money towards paying medical bills. 

Finally being as close to home as he can get for now, Paul has been doing in-home therapy exercises, and is on a waiting list for outpatient therapy. He sees a prosthetic specialist, who hopes to have him fitted for a prosthetic in less than a year, due to how quickly Paul is healing. All of his doctors are amazed by how fast he is recovering, but anyone that knows Paul knows that he has a great attitude that has definitely helped him tremendously. “A lot of people keep asking me if I’m depressed, and I don’t like that, I don’t understand it. They say it will happen, but I don’t believe so- it doesn’t have to. Yes there’s bad days; I go to get out of bed and think this is kind of what it’s going to be like forever now… But, you just have to get out of bed and go do something.” 

Paul may not be able to do the same things he once did, but that hasn’t hindered him from recovering one bit. He has a positive outlook and is just as kind and funny as he’s ever been. Liza mentioned his great attitude with a smile on her face, “He has a great sense of humor. He may say something really sucks, but he figures it out and goes from there.” Paul has a medical leave of absence from his job for a year, and with this time off to recover, he will have plenty of love and support from his family and friends to keep him busy. 

Paul’s mom, Janet, resides in Bagley and works at Kubiak’s.  He also has two sisters - Lori (Jon Hand) and their family who live in Bagley and Jolene who lives in Fosston.  

The Lengby-Fosston Knight-

riders snowmobile club is sponsoring the benefit for Paul and his family, which will be hosted at Ventures Bar and Grill in Fosston on September 17th at 4:00 P.M. If you are unable to make it to the benefit but would still like to donate you can send your donation to:

First National Bank

℅ Paul Nelson Benefit

124 W 1st St

Fosston, MN 56542

Any questions regarding the benefit, please contact Russell Sultvedt at 218-766-6282 or Tracy Ware at 701-261-6198. More information on the benefit can be found at the Facebook page titled “IT’S ALL for Paul! Benefit for Paul Nelson”.