Dakarai Moore, Jr. is 12-years-old, but seems wise beyond his years.
"God puts his toughest people through bigger struggles, so I just try to deal with it," says Dakarai.
Last summer, doctors were forced to amputate his left leg after he mysteriously contracted a flesh eating disease, necrotizing fasciitis, but his journey didn't end there.
On April 20th, 2017, Dakarai and his parents went to Shriner's Hospital in Chicago on a life changing trip. After consulting with doctors, they decided Dakarai should have his right leg amputated, too.
The first amputation was necessary to save his life, but this second leg amputation was done to give Dakarai the best chance at walking with prosthetics. The disease had destroyed much of the right leg's muscle tissue, so he wasn't left with a lot of feeling and it was weighing him down.
"I was sad. Nobody wants that to happen, but I want to walk again, so we had to go with the best decision and that was to amputate my leg," says Dakarai.
After a 9 hour surgery, doctors had amputated his right leg through the knee.
Since then, Dakarai says he's doing "perfectly fine" and now has even more independence after losing his right leg.
"I can go upstairs, I can get off my couch, I can do bench curls on my bunk bed," he says.
His parents are not only seeing, but they're feeling his joy, too.
"As a mom, I would never think that my son would one day not have both his legs, but right now, the hard part is over. This is happy for me. He's doing good, his health is better and he's smiling," says Dakarai's mom, Charmaine Norman.
His dad says, "You don't wish or want anything like that to happen, but that was the best thing for him."
Dakarai is still healing and is now focused on his upper body strength to prepare for prosthetic legs. He says it's been a tough road, but he remains positive and focused on his future.
He recently started rehab and will have to have another surgery to shave down some bone in his left leg. It's possible he can have prosthetic legs in the next year.
His parents say they're incredibly proud of the young man he is and will always be by his side as his biggest cheerleaders.
"I'm super proud of him. He amazes me and a lot of other people he comes in contact with. He's a real genuine spirit.. can't do nothing but love him," says Dakarai's dad.
His mom adds, "I tell him ain't nothing gonna stop you from living your life. It might be different, but you're gonna live your life the way you want and I'm gonna be right there next to him."
