Wilson Baez's Recovery From a Leg Amputation

After a decade-long battle with complications brought about by diabetes, the loving family man and former NYPD school safety division lieutenant we know as Wilson Baez has finally committed himself to moving forward for a new lease on life at age 56.


We who’ve remained close to Will can speak to what an agonizing period it has been in his life since the injury that led to his early retirement from the force after 26 years – began degenerating into a disability that has at this point cost him his lower right leg.

A wound that never healed. Then the onset of diabetic nephropathy. And finally, the deformities brought about by Charcot Foot Disease.

How the quality of his life has been impacted through it all cannot go unmentioned. He had grown increasingly immobile with each passing month before reluctantly giving in to the suggestion that he do away with his sickly limb. From gauze and bandages to bulky casts; from getting around in a walker – to relying on a medical scooter; from aching and moaning with each trip back from the hospital – to the point where we almost lost him to the mercer in his blood.


On February 4 Wilson finally gave doctors the green light to amputate his foot. On February 11, they will continue to remove flesh and bone – leaving nothing below the right knee.

Henceforth begins the road to recovery. Best case scenario, we’ll see the old fella adjusting to a prosthetic leg by the year’s end. God-willing, with your help.


The emotional support received from friends and former co-workers over the past several years has really been a saving grace.

Your prayer hands and hearts, your words of encouragement, your phone calls and visits have served as a reminder that being restricted to home – never has to equate to being alone.

As those who’ve found themselves in a similar predicament know – the feelings of isolation and powerlessness that come with suffering from a debilitating condition can drag even the strongest among us through the depths of depression.

- The physical pain has only been part of the battle.

- The infections and illnesses that have followed have only been part of the battle.

- And the indescribable realization that strikes each time (a toe; a piece of foot; an entire limb) that was once depended on to carry out the simplest functions – is separated from the body and no longer there… that too has only been part of the battle.

Those are parts of the battle you’ve all witnessed from afar as photographs of the school safety official standing in his work clothes – have transitioned to pictures of a man seated on his walker as he takes in sunlight on the porch. Battles you’ve witnessed as photographs of a young Willie looking down from the top step, among the old neighborhood gang – have transitioned to images of Will looking up as the grandchildren he used to chase around bend and lean in to get close for a shot of them all crowding around him.

What far too often goes under the radar is the psychological battle. The battle one is forced to fight within self. To keep holding on. To be able to see past an insurmountable burden, towards better days on the horizon. And as much as each one of us may insist on believing that’s a battle we are strong enough to fight on our own – God places the compassionate around us to help lighten the load.


Those of you who’ve checked in to see how Wilson has been doing. As well as the many of you who may have remained distant, but still sent positive thoughts Wilson’s way knowing he hasn’t been well. The Baez family can not thank you enough for being there, whether in person, word, or spirit.

With your support we remain confident that we will be able to help Wilson fight through this latest setback, but unfortunately, in addition to how it has forced him into a struggle with his body and mind – this battle has been costly in a material sense. It is an admission we’ve refrained from making public for as long as we could, but the burden is about to become too overwhelming to bare without your help.

It is not easy coming to this point, but through humility and love, we’ve asked God to guide us on how we may best make due with what we have – and we’ve thereby been reminded that we do have our loved ones. These are not troubles that manifested for Wilson just the other day. We are not racing before you eager to lift an empty pot. What we are doing is finally allowing ourselves to reach out for help – so that a man who has been a positive and uplifting figure in the lives of many, may raise the means to take care of whatever medical expenses stand in the way of his full recovery.