SAN ANTONIO — At CT Church, you can always find Pastor Doug Roberts behind the pulpit preaching in his chair.
"The biggest thing I want people to know is that, you know, no matter, tragedy falls into everybody's life at some point," he said.
Last May, a simple bruise turned into an infection. Lab results revealed that he had contracted a flesh-eating bacteria. Pastor Roberts admits he doesn't remember much of that time, his wife Janet making quick decisions.
"It was the worse," she said. "It couldn't get any worse. They did not expect him to live, and so that was...it was like I was on a constant rollercoaster ride because one moment I think everything's going to be okay. The next moment it was bad."
Janet explains she had to decide between his left leg or his life.
"They all know I'm a horrible, horrible golfer," Pastor Roberts said. "And so the first sentence I [said] when she said they took your leg off, I said, 'Oh man, this is really going to really mess up my golf game.'"
Returning as a pastor wasn't easy.
Today, he navigates up onto the stage via a ramp. His home outfitted to accommodate his wheelchair.
"it's got to be challenging in his head, thinking I can't do, especially when I'm having to take out garbage, fix things," Janet said. "I know that's got to be hard for him because he wants to he would rather be up out of the chair doing it himself."
For his congregation who prayed for him, who built the ramp and helped him adjust, it's a different service now.
"I think we have changed," said David Phipps, a missionary at CT Church. "We have changed sitting in the seats, to know that this experience is real."
It's a visual reminder for the congregation and for the couple to live life fully and completely.
"I really think a person needs to be grounded and prepared for tomorrow because we don't know what tomorrow holds," Pastor Roberts said. "Just see how God's going to use us from this point forward. He must have a reason. Or I figure I wouldn't be here. So we're just waiting to see what the next adventure is."