Former motocross racer explains how opioid addiction led to fentanyl use, sepsis and loss of his nose

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A man who lost his nose after a near-fatal infection is sharing his story in hopes of helping others.

As a teenager, Ted Baumgart from Chili loved motocross and excelled at it. He suffered several spills over the years, breaking bones, and was often prescribed opioids. Very quickly, his passion for sports played a role in his addiction.

“They were selling them (the pills) too expensive, I had no money… everyone was saying, ‘oh yeah, use fentanyl,’ they were saying how much cheaper it was and it would keep you going a lot longer,” Baumgart recalled.

So, eventually, he turned to the streets to get drugs. “It only takes an instant, and it will ruin your life, it ruined mine, it took me in a totally different direction than I wanted to go,” Baumgart says.

Baumgart ended up contracting an infection from illicit drugs that led to sepsis. “I went to the hospital and everything went black, my nose, my ears, part of my hands,” he remembers. While his ears and hands recovered, he lost more than half of his nose.

It happened nine years ago, Baumgart has been in recovery ever since, but he couldn’t afford the surgery needed to repair his nose, “They told me it was cosmetic so insurance wouldn’t cover it,” he told News10NBC.

Baumgart says he’s worked hard to stay clean since losing his nose, but he’s judged every day on his appearance, “tired of being bullied, everywhere I go, people laughing at me, staring at me, gawking at me and saying things I don’t like. You try to erase them, but there’s only so long you can have thick skin and that’s kind of where I’m at am,” he said.

When asked how he reacts to people who say his situation is a consequence of his choices, Baumgart responds: “I wish I could go back, but I can’t, so I try to move forward and take one day at a time.” »

Baumgart says he decided to share his story now in hopes it can help others, especially young people with big dreams. “If I can stop one kid from using it and deciding not to use it because of my history, it will be worth it,” he says.

For more information on Baumgart’s journey, click here.