P.E.I. fire survivor sharing journey after amputation

Nate Lykow is a pretty ordinary guy. A father, a husband, but in September of last year he faced some extraordinary circumstances.

A kitchen fire almost took his life. Fighting through heavy smoke, he wound-up entangled in a chair and on fire.

“For a spilt second, I’m like, ‘I’m not going to be able to do this,’ and then I just thought of him,” he said, gesturing to his infant son. “So I powered through, I took half a second to unhook my foot and then crawl outside.”

The fire destroyed his home and left him with serious burns over a quarter of his body.

A photo of the damage from the kitchen fire at the Lykow home. (Courtesy: Charisa Lykow)

He and his wife Charisa’s first thought when they got outside was to bang on their neighbours doors to warn them of the danger.

“We made it all the way around the front of the house before I even registered that his skin was hanging off,” said Charisa Lykow.

Most of the damage was on his right arm and leg. Major skin grafts were needed, but the most serious problem was his right foot.

It had given him trouble for a long time. He was born with clubfoot, about a half a dozen fused bones which caused him pain, all of it exacerbated by the burns.

Lykow says amputation was really the only option. His leg was removed below the knee in January.

Nate Lykow had his leg amputated below the knee in January following a kitchen fire. (Courtesy: Charisa Lykow)

“I think I lucked out, because I’m in much less pain now,” he said. “Which was the goal, ultimately.”

Lykow has started a YouTube channel called Nate Phoenix, to take people on the journey of recovery with him.

“It was in the back of my head the whole time,” said Lykow. “I knew I had to make something good of this crappy situation.”

He said while he’d like to see the channel get big that’s not the reason he’s doing it.

“Really important for me just to show other people that you can do whatever you put your mind to,” said Lykow. “Regardless of the limitations of your situation.”

He said it’ll be a success if it helps just one person.

"If someone else is going through what I went through, or someone knows someone else that's going through something similar, I just want to give them some hope, you know?” said Lykow. “Something to look forward to."

Of course the journey’s not over yet. The next step? Inpatient rehab to learn to use a prosthetic leg. They’re expecting that’ll happen within the next two months.

For more Prince Edward Island news visit our dedicated provincial page.