New York firefighter loses leg to flesh-eating bacteria
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A firefighter who traded his leg for his life has been released from a Long Island hospital following a battle with a flesh-eating bacteria.
Ralph Lettieri, of East Patchogue, nearly died when a poison ivy rash was infected by a microbe that began killing off tissue in his left leg.
Doctors say there was only one way to save him. They amputated the leg above the knee.
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Newsday reports that the 26-year-old will be getting a prosthetic leg.
Lettieri says he was down at first, but now feels he has a new lease on life.
He says he hopes to return to firefighting, and plans to work for his father's construction company.