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WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — More than two years ago, Michael "Kimo" Jiga started his day by walking his dog at the beach, washing the dishes and driving to work.
But now he waits for a caretaker to make his coffee, which he drinks out of a straw and has someone shave his face, reported the Maui News (http://bit.ly/1JzbLSh).
The 53-year-old Wailuku man lost portions of his arms and legs after suffering complications from treatment for pneumonia when he was unresponsive at Maui Memorial Medical Center in 2013.
Even without the use of his limbs, Jiga's spirit remains strong.
"They kept me alive. I was not sorry about it," Jiga said of losing his hands and feet.
"It's good to be positive. Other people, they feel down. They see me, their troubles go away. Real easy," he said, explaining how he is able remain upbeat through the life-changing experience.
Jiga is trying to adapt positively. A former commercial painter by trade, Jiga adapted while still recovering in the hospital from his surgery. He painted a portrait using his teeth to guide the brush while using what was left of his arms to hold it.
His positive attitude has won Jiga friends wherever he goes.
And now they are rallying behind him. They've started a fundraiser because his health insurance plan won't cover the cost of prosthetics three doctors have recommended for him. The cost is between $50,000 to $100,000.
Jiga had already been accepted for admission into the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific on Oahu in a special program for in-house rehabilitation and prosthetics, but was rejected later when his insurance wouldn't cover the expense.
Jiga is eager to live independently.
"I wish I had some prosthetics so I could take care of that. So I can be more independent," he said.
Friends have started a Go Fund Me fundraiser with the goal of raising $100,000.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary also held an appreciation luncheon for Jiga. He painted an ocean mural for the sanctuary in the 1990s. The mural is no longer there because upgrades have been made to the sanctuary, but the sanctuary wanted to acknowledge Jiga's volunteer spirit.
"When I saw him (Jiga) in the hospital, I was just amazed someone had that much energy after all he's been through. That was inspiring," said Allen Tom, regional director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries at NOAA.
Tom said he didn't recognize Jiga at first when he saw him by chance while Jiga was recovering at Maui Memorial Medical Center.
Jiga had been staying in the same room as Tom's friend. When Tom went back again to visit his friend, Jiga wasn't there. (He was in the lobby befriending others.)
Tom said people could easily get down on themselves after losing portions of their limbs, but not Jiga.
What inspired Tom was Jiga's "attitude and will."
"He had a big smile on his face," he said.
Tom said the luncheon initially was a small one to show the sanctuary's appreciation for volunteers, such as Jiga. But the luncheon blossomed to one that included a program and local leaders.
Others involved in the luncheon included Hope Chapel Hospital Visitation Ministry Chaplain Kaitee Lusk.
Lusk is amazed by Jiga's spirit and said one cannot help but "fall in love with Michael."
"He never complains," Lusk added.
Jiga chimed in jokingly: "The complaint department is on the 13th floor; they don't have any elevators."
Lusk's first contact with Jiga came when he was unresponsive at Maui Memorial in August 2013. A friend asked her to come with him to pray for Jiga, who appeared close to death.
Sepsis had set in. Jiga initially had been brought to the hospital with a bad case of pneumonia and had been given medication because his blood pressure was too low.
Sepsis, according to the website Web MD, is a serious medical condition caused by an overwhelming immune response to infection. Chemicals released into the blood to fight infection trigger widespread inflammation.
Blood clotting during sepsis reduced the blood flow to Jiga's limbs.
"When I walked into Michael's room, I almost passed out. I never saw anything like this," Lusk said.
"All four limbs were pitch black," Lusk recalled. "I touched them. They were like burnt wood. I said 'Oh, my gosh.'"
So Lusk and her friend prayed for Jiga. After the prayer, Lusk said that she saw a tear come from one of Jiga's closed eyes even as he wasn't speaking and appeared to be sleeping.
Lusk left that day not knowing what was going to happen. In about a week, she returned and was surprised to find Jiga smiling.
Jiga was in bed with all four limbs bandaged. Doctors had to remove portions of his arms and legs.
"Here he is smiling and talking and happy," Lusk remembers.
Lusk has since become one of Jiga's cheerleaders.
Lusk and Hope Chapel Hospital Visitation Ministry Co-Chairman Bruce Moore have been taking Jiga around to the movies and other outings and assisting him when he needs additional help beyond his care home in Wailuku.
Since being released from Kula Hospital in January, Jiga is trying to adapt to regular life without the use of his hands and feet.
He wants to learn how to cook again and misses "just going out." This includes fishing and hunting. Gone are his days of assisting with Hale Kau Kau, the food program for the needy at St. Theresa Church in Kihei. He no longer can surf, which was what brought him to Maui in the late 1980s from California.
While Jiga acknowledged that it does get frustrating when he cannot do the things he used to, he doesn't let it get to him.
"It's not a good feeling to have. I don't dwell on it," he said.
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Information from: The Maui News, http://www.mauinews.com
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