Minn. 5th grader steps up for prosthetic limb bill

WCCO 4: Shakopee man loses legs helping change tire | March 2007

A Shakopee, Minn. man who lost his legs after helping a friend change a tire on the side of the road, wants people to think twice before putting on a spare.

Aaron Holm went to work Tuesday morning, Jan. 2, just like every morning. When he got there, he said, "I had a message waiting for me that one of my colleagues had a flat tire."

The co-worker called for a tow truck but an hour later, she called work again, saying she would be late because the truck hadn't showed. Holm decided to hop in his car and help.

"Just being a good guy, yep," said Holm.

That kindness threw him and his world upside down. Holm pulled onto the shoulder in the eastbound lane of Interstate 394 just east of the Hopkins Crossroad exit. He got the flat tire off his friend's car, and reached for the spare tire.

Suddenly, another driver crossed onto the shoulder. At highway speeds, that driver rear-ended Holm's car, causing a chain reaction. Holm's car hit him, and then hit the car with the flat tire.

"What I remember is coming to and laying face down on the shoulder of 394, and thinking this is a dream, you know, this has to be a dream. And I tried shaking it off and quickly realized it was not," he said.

Holm looked up and saw his legs were mangled. One was lost on the highway and the other was lost in the hospital.

He spent 18 days at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, but only four days in Intensive Care. Doctors were surprised that the damage was limited to his legs. Holm said, he went through six surgeries.

"To me it was a victory," said Holm. "I had made it. I made it out of a situation that was ... unbelievable to me."

Last week, Aaron was fitted for prosthetic legs. He expects to begin learning how to walk again this week.

Sunday, hundreds came to a fundraiser at Aaron's church, Transfiguration Lutheran Church in Bloomington.

His friends are throwing another fundraiser Sunday March 18, at the Metropolitan Ballroom in Golden Valley. He's hoping to raise enough money to install an elevator in his Shakopee home, so he can play hockey with his children in their basement.

Holm said he would still help his coworker but this time he says he would not change her tire.

"Just get the individual out of what is now, to me, considered harms way," said Holm.

The driver who crashed into Aaron Holm was charged with some minor traffic offenses. Holm has filed a civil lawsuit against the man.