WARNING: This video above contains graphic content of the man’s medical condition. Viewer discretion is advised.

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) An Oklahoma man lost nearly all of his toes and almost his entire foot until he got a second opinion.

Tom Parrott was an avid marathon runner for nearly 50 years, but one day he noticed a sore on his big toe. He thought it was just from running, but it never healed.

“That sore over a period of 30 days just opened up and became staph infected and down to the bone,” said Parrott.

Doctors decided to remove some of the toe, but that wasn’t the end of it.

One by one, his toes became infected, and doctors continued to amputate them.

“Half of the large toe, the great toe is gone, and then the middle toe was straightened and it’s kind of not effective, it’s just there,” said Parrott.

Finally, a podiatrist suggested the issue may not be in his foot, but in his heart, so he went to the CardioVascular Health Clinic.

“He had a blockage in his thigh of 100 percent and also a blockage just below the knee of 100 percent,” said Dr. Jim Melton, CardioVascular Health Clinic.

Dr. Melton’s team got to work immediately and cleared the arteries and restored blood flow in less than 72 hours.

“The key thing when you’re trying to salvage a limb is time, and the time factors involved with big hospital systems and stuff like that are usually counterproductive to saving limbs just because of the wait times and certain things like that,” said Dr. Melton.

The wound is now completely healed, and the blood flow is excellent.

“Very grateful because at that point, you don’t know what you might lose and could be a lot worse,” said Parrott.

While he may not get back to running, Parrott is on the road to recovery.

“I hope to be able to continue walking and increase my walking back up to, you know, two or three miles a day, and will play pickleball several times a week, so just being able to be active more than anything,” said Parrott.

He’s now sharing his story in hopes of saving someone else.

“You need to pursue all alternatives, get second opinions, and try to figure out why the wounds not healing,” said Parrott.

Dr. Melton says you may sometimes have to take it upon yourself to find or ask for a vascular doctor.

“You need to be as aggressive as possible to and have all the advocates in your in your back pocket to try to save your limb,” said Dr. Melton.

If you or a loved one has a wound that won’t heal, especially with a history of diabetes or circulation issues, doctors say don’t wait.