BonnerSprings.com

Almost two years after a rare infection nearly took his life, a 13-year-old Bonner Springs boy continues to make significant strides in his recovery.

On Dec. 13, 2000, Tony Holmes stopped breathing and collapsed at his parents' home. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital, where doctors eventually determined he had contracted group A strep, which had then developed into Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome.

During the three months he spent at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., doctors were forced to amputate each of Tony's legs below the knees, a procedure that was necessary because blood circulation had been cut off for an extended period of time.

Slowly but steadily, Tony's life has begun to return to normal.

He now walks the halls of Clark Middle School, where he is a seventh-grader. Yes, walks.

For the past eight months, he has been learning to use two prosthetic legs, which enable him to get back some of his independence.

"It has just been amazing to watch him and support him," said Tony's mother, Rhonda.

Tony said learning to walk was not an easy process.

"When I started to walk I had to use a walker," he said. "I had to learn how to balance."

Although he is making progress, pain in Tony's legs sometimes forces him back into his wheelchair. He takes his wheelchair with him most the time just in case.

"He walks as much as he can tolerate throughout the day, and if he does have pain, he has his wheelchair there at school if he needs it," Rhonda said.

Tony said he sometimes worries about whether he will get sick again. Doctors were never able to determine what exactly caused him to develop toxic shock syndrome, he said.

While he understands that getting sick again probably is not likely, he said he has some advice for anyone faced with a similar situation.

"Tough it out," he said. "You can get better."

For now, Tony said he is looking forward to the day when he can get back participating in sports.

"I hope by next year I can at least try to play baseball," he said. "It's one of my favorite sports."

Rhonda said her son's experiences don't seem to have changed him much. He still enjoys playing jokes on his family and friends, still gets grounded and still loves his independence.

"He's a 13-year-old boy who is in as much trouble or probably more than most," she said.

Tony said his ordeal has taught him to live life day by day.

"Don't think ahead in life because you don't know what will happen," he said.

Rhonda said she has also learned a lot from her son's struggles.

"Be grateful for everything you have because you never know when things are going to change," she said. "Life is so precious."