SARASOTA, Fla. — A community is rallying around a man lucky to still be alive. Doctors had to amputate 27-year-old Luis Zubiaga's leg after he crashed his motorcycle on Saturday in North Port.
"If things didn't happen the way they did, we wouldn't be here with him right now," Odaliz Kearney said.
Luis Zubiaga's older sister Odaliz stood with her family outside of Sarasota Memorial Hospital where he was hospitalized. The family opened up only to 10 Tampa Bay's Angelina Salcedo.
His spirit is infectious. An avid motorcycle rider and star athlete on the soccer field for the North Port Red Bulls, Luis' family says he's outgoing and strong-willed.
Videos of Luis playing soccer are now a moment in time before his world changed.
Two days ago, a single motorcycle crash on U.S. Highway 41 in Charlotte County could've ended his life. The family started to get calls late Saturday night.
"Right then and there my nightmare started. My heart broke. I literally just dropped everything I was doing," said Juan Zubiaga, Luis Zubiaga's younger brother.
Juan was one of the first to get a call his older brother was seriously injured, and a family friend was next.
"The police called me back and said they had to amputate his leg. They flew him out over here. I was just like, I didn't even know what to think," said Luis Rodriguez, his family friend and teammate.
Luis Zubiaga was sedated and would wake up to a new reality. Lucky to be here, the family says he is grateful.
"If that's the cost of it, it's a small price to have him and be able to talk to him and see him and have a whole life ahead of us," Kearney said.
So while he won't share the soccer field with his teammates any time soon, the goal is to get him back on the field once he recovers.
"I honestly wish the world didn't have to find out about him this way. I felt like he could have made it," Rodriguez said.
Everyone, his family, friends and teammates are all just thankful this 27-year-old is still here.
"You are never going to be alone in this. We're still gonna do the things that you want to do. This doesn't stop things, we're still gonna do the same things," Juan Zubiaga said.
The good news is Luis Zubiaga isn't giving up. He stood up with doctors for the first time since the crash today. His family tells us they are grateful he was wearing a helmet.
His journey to recovery will be long, so his family is fundraising for his medical bills. If you'd like to help him tackle this new challenge, their GoFundMe is here.