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You never know what you have until it’s gone. Tyler Zander identifies with this phrase very well.

In August, the pre-med entrepreneurship junior eagerly began the semester like any other Oklahoma State student. But, unlike most of his peers, he’s continuing his college career with a prosthetic leg. During the summer of 2011, Zander lost most of his right leg in a grain elevator accident.

Zander and fellow survivor Bryce Gannon began their morning routine at Zaloudek Grain Co. in Kremlin, by placing wheat in a flat storage unit. An auger on the ground would pull it through a giant, rotating, metal cork screw moving grain to other storage units.

This shift, however, became anything but routine.

“(Gannon) stepped through one of the boards that was covering the auger. I just heard him scream, and it took me a second to realize what was happening. I didn’t know how to shut off the auger, so I ran to him. But, as I went for his hand, by mind just went blank. I braced myself on the floor as the auger pulled me in. It took rescue workers about an hour and 20 minutes to get us out.”

After a horrific amputation, a tear in his bladder and four infections, doctors at OU Medical Center concluded that Zander would survive, but would stay in hospital care for a couple of months.

“In that time period, I had 30 surgeries and received 97 units of blood,” Zander said. “It was a long 72 days.”

Zander was released Oct. 14, 2011, but his absence didn’t go unnoticed.

“My hospital room was full of cards and posters on the walls,” Zander said. “When I went home, my entire school was lined up on my driveway. I got a police escort through town. There were so many fundraisers, and I was definitely blessed in that aspect. I had a great support team.”

A main supporter of Zander is Oklahoma Blood Institute. OBI manages the life-saving donations from more than 140,000 individuals each year, according to the OBI website.

“(OBI) is a cause that I’m really passionate about,” Zander said. “If it hadn’t been for those 97 people that donated blood, I wouldn’t even have the opportunity to survive or make it past that first day. I’ve actually had the opportunity to meet four of my actual donors, so that was pretty neat.”

“Unfortunately, there are people like (Tyler) every day across the state in need of blood,” said Leslie Gamble, the Oklahoma Blood Institute community relations director. “When people donate with Oklahoma Blood Institute, it will literally save the life of someone like Tyler.”

Zander strongly encourages his peers and community to give back.

“The part I don’t like about giving blood is that you can’t see who you’re impacting,” Zander said. “It’s hard to realize that, but there really is someone out there who you’re giving a chance to live.”

Thanks to physical therapy, a healthy work-out schedule and strong faith, Zander feels he’s not someone who’s disabled, but an equal to everyone else.

“When I got here, I never had anything holding me back,” Zander said. “I’m in Farmhouse and my pledge brothers definitely helped me out and allowed me to not see myself as being any different. God has just blessed me in more ways than I could have imagined. My family, community, girlfriend and pastor have been such a great support system, and I wouldn’t be here without any of them.”