Community supports Dickinson man after diabetic coma

MANDAN, N.D. (KFYR) - After suffering a diabetic infection, a Dickinson man has a long road to recovery. But Eric Sticka says he’s not going through it alone.

“The doctors said I wasn’t supposed to live, you know what I mean, and I thank Jesus every day,” said Eric Sticka, Dickinson.

Eric Sticka knows he’s lucky to be alive.

He’s in recovery in Mandan after suffering a diabetic coma and infection last month.

He says without his brother Mike and mother, he wouldn’t have made it.

“It’s the support, it’s the love that gets you through and the community has been behind me one hundred percent,” said Eric.

The Dickinson community and surrounding areas know the Sticka brothers well and have been showing their support by being “Sticka Strong.”

Friends have made stickers and t-shirts with the “Sticka Strong” hashtag to raise money for medical bills.

“We didn’t expect it, we were sitting the hospital and things on Facebook and it’s like holy cow and the first couple days I got so many text messages so I started utilizing Facebook to tell people what’s going on, because there’s so many people who care about him,” said Mike Sticka, Eric’s brother.

Eric says he was moved from Dickinson to Bismarck, and then to Minneapolis for care. He says his left leg was amputated a couple of inches below his knee.

He has a message for others with Type Two Diabetes.

“Take care of yourself, go to your doctor every six months and take your insulin,” said Eric.

Eric says to take the disease seriously and keep your diabetes under control.

To help Eric, visit https://gofund.me/212fae0f

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