A double amputee patient is being called an inspiration as he makes a full recovery and dedicates his life to helping others.
“I woke up six weeks later and was like ‘Where’s my arm and my leg?'” says Noah Filer, describing his first thoughts after waking up from a coma.
Noah Filer was involved in a tragic motorcycle accident that changed his life forever, leaving him without his left arm and leg.
“We really weren’t sure at that point if he was going to survive,” says Ethan Harris, a Registered Nurse who helped Filer when he was in the hospital, “He had problems with his kidneys, his brain, and his lungs.”
Filer was in the middle of paramedic school in 2012 when he got into the accident. After nearly two months in a coma and another month in rehab, he decided to continue fulfilling his dream of becoming a paramedic.
“I had countless hours in it. I was already so far in that I couldn’t not finish,” says Filer, when asked why he didn’t give up on his dream.
Now Filer is sharing his story and spreading words of encouragement to others who have gone through a traumatic experience. He wants them to know that life goes on.
“Never give up,” says Filer, “You never know what’s around the corner. I never expected to work at Swedes. You just kind of take life and keep moving.”
Filer is now being called an inspiration. He’s the first double amputee patient to become a paramedic in the state of Illinois.
Noah Filer currently works in SwedishAmerican Hospital’s Emergency Department as a clinical greeter. Now that he’s a licensed paramedic, he wants to work on an ambulance or perhaps stay in the hospital setting.