Florida veteran raising money for leg amputation after horrific crash in Daytona Beach

A Marine Corps veteran and aspiring firefighter Cody George doesn’t remember much from that fateful October night in Daytona Beach. He was riding his motorcycle with some fellow Orlando firefighters when his bike was hit by a car.

"I remember looking down seeing bones coming out of my leg," said George.

George woke up in the hospital needing multiple surgeries to repair his badly damaged hand and leg.

"I totally expected to come out of that operating room without a leg," said George.

Doctors were able to save George’s leg but only briefly. Since then, his leg has been slowly dying. Doctors planned multiple surgeries over the next five years to try to salvage his leg, but they gave those only a 5% chance of success. Instead, George has decided to do the inevitable now and amputate his leg.

"With the improvements they’ve made and prosthetics over the last 20 years it just makes more sense for me to get back to playing with my kids and get back to doing what I love doing," said George.

George is a Seminole County native who served two tours in Afghanistan and was in the process of becoming an Orlando firefighter before the accident. The Orlando Fire hockey team will be holding a charity game for him on June 17th at the RDV Ice Den in Maitland to help raise money for his surgery that’s not covered by insurance.

"I just want to say thank you to my wife and my children. The support that everyone else is giving me has been huge," said George. "I can’t do without everybody that’s been there."

George knows the long road ahead won’t be easy but with support from those around him and the generosity of others he knows he can make it through.

You can donate to George’s GoFundMe here.