Injured while inflating an air mattress: Father lost his arms and legs due to a small wound

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Georg Winterling (40) loved to be active. Whether it was snowboarding, skiing or hunting in the woods – it all shaped his life. But then everything changed. When he wanted to inflate an old air mattress in the basement in December 2022, the father of the family from Bielefeld (D) slightly injured his index finger. The small cut would cost him his arms and legs. “At that moment, mouse droppings got into the wound,” he recalled in a YouTube video from Hannover Medical School.

“Overnight there was a grayish, shriveled blister at the interface,” says the father of two. The pain in his arm became unbearable. “Every touch hurt,” Winterling said. Three days later he suffered from shortness of breath and had to be taken to hospital. A septic shock was diagnosed there.

During sepsis, the body tries to protect vital organs. “The blood pools around the heart and brain to continue supplying them with oxygen. And that is at the expense of blood circulation in the arms and legs,” explains Winterling’s doctor Jennifer Ernst of the Hannover Medical School (MHH).

“No chance of preserving hands and lower legs”

Winterling had to be intubated and placed in an induced coma for 16 days. During this time he was connected to an ECMO machine, which took over the functions of all organs. His wife and two sons never leave his side. Although Winterling was not conscious, he remembers having nightmares. But also because his wife always played her wedding song for him.

On December 26, Winterling awoke from his coma. “It was actually clear that there was no longer a chance to save the hands and lower legs,” explains Peter Vogt, head of the clinic for reconstructive surgery. The dead tissue had to be removed, otherwise toxins could have spread throughout the body. Winterling accepted his fate. “It was a bit of a struggle: ‘When can we finally stop this?’” he says. Eight operations followed.

Learn to stand and walk again

Giving up was never an option for the father of the family. He does physical and occupational therapy to learn to use the prostheses. “Taking the first steps was incredible.” Little by little he regains his independence. For example, he can now work on the computer, brush his teeth and make coffee.

Winterling does not lose sight of his goal: “I want my old life back. “Having the strength to maybe stand on the mountain again with my skis on my legs – or to walk through the forest.” He is forever grateful for the support of his doctors and family. Winterling is convinced: “Anything is possible and everything works.”

Source: Blick