The life of Loren Krytzer was on a downhill spiral.
In 2007, whilst on the way to work as a carpenter, he was pushed from behind into an intersection by a truck. He was in the hospital for a year, on dialysis. Through nerve damage, fractures and infections... they had to cut of his leg.
"I kept trying to do the best I could, and finally it got so bad they said, 'Now we have to cut your foot off.'”
Even with the amputation, he was denied disability for three years. He had to send his children to his parents in Louisiana.
He was depressed, unemployed and had to survive on his disability check. $819 a month. He had to move into a run-down section 8 home.
Seven years he lived this way.. usually overdrawn.
Than one day he was watching Antiques Roadshow. He saw a blanket that was similar to one he owned. The blanket on A.R. was appraised at an astronomical amount. His was passed down for generations. His great-great-grandfather bought it at a trading post around 1880.
A glimmer of hope.
It was folded-up in his closet. He thought it was worthless.
He was mistaken.
After the auction fees and taxes, he received a check for $1.3 million.
Since then, he married his long-time girlfriend Lisa, who stuck by him in the toughest of times. They moved from California to Idaho to make the money last longer. They bought two homes as investments and a new car, the first for either of them. And he invests in stocks to keep funds coming in.
His children are once again back home.
A far cry from, “I’ve never had anything before.”
"It's more than just the blanket that kept me alive. I firmly believe i’m here because eight years ago i turned my life around. I tell people that a strong faith and a strong mind...
...without those you’re not going to make it.
And i thank my ancestors for seeing me through.”