‘My legs were paralyzed’: Dedham man recovering at home after nearly losing his life in Las Vegas

DEDHAM, Mass. — A father and Navy veteran from Dedham is back home recovering after almost losing his life in Las Vegas.

He says thanks to a Boston 25 News story this spring, he was able to get a MedFlight back home to get the care he needed to survive.

“I went to move my legs and my legs were just paralyzed,” said Bob Rice, who fell severely ill while on vacation in Las Vegas.

Rice is now learning how to walk again after needing surgery in both legs.

“My biggest concern was by the time I got out there, he didn’t even know who I was,” said Christina Rice, Bob’s daughter.

Rice’s family flew out to Vegas while he was in critical condition.

He suffered liver failure, and they wanted to transfer him to a hospital back home in Boston to get the specialized care he needed.

“This definitely was a life-or-death situation,” said Christina Rice. “He would have died if he didn’t get back here.”

After Boston 25 shared Rice’s story in May, the family was able to raise enough donations to pay for an ICU Medflight back home.

That flight cost them 63,000 dollars out of pocket.

“Getting back on the Medflight, I don’t think we could have done it without you guys and all the people, donations just poured in after the story, a lot of them were anonymous donations,” said Rice.

Since returning home, Rice stayed at Tufts and then Lahey hospital, where he learned much more about his condition.

He says he had an infection in both legs, where he had had knee replacements about a decade ago.

“And with the pneumonia and the Strep B, they must have had a battle inside me and just exploded throughout, went to my brain, it went everywhere I mean I have heart issues now,” said Rice.

After spending time at Lahey, Rice went through rehab at Spaulding before returning home and says he is grateful for everyone’s support that helped get him back.

“If it wasn’t for people and prayer I really don’t think I’d be here,” said Rice.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2024 Cox Media Group