KSHB 41 News reporter Braden Bates covers parts of Jackson County, Missouri, including Lee's Summit. Send Braden a story idea by e-mail.
A Lee's Summit man who was hit by a garbage truck and nearly killed in October 2025 got to reunite with the medical team who saved his life.
Kansas City Public Safety
Lee’s Summit man, 70, struck by dump truck while riding bicycle Wednesday
Gary Brown underwent 19 surgeries, including amputation and bowel resection, at Research Medical Center.
"Hi, my name is Gary. I'm a recovering above-the-knee amputee. I've been without my leg for seven months," Brown said Thursday to his medical team and a room full of other patients.
Brown admittedly changed his appearance for the event, donning blue hair as a tribute to one of his doctors.
"Dr. Garcia came in and she always had blue hair," Brown said. "And so we decided to dedicate tonight having blue hair in her honor."
Brown said he spent five hours in the emergency room and was later sent to Dr. Megan Garcia on the Burn Services floor.
While Brown wasn't burned in the crash, Dr. Garcia said skin reconstruction is one part of their expertise.
"In Mr. Brown's case, he was missing a lot of skin after his amputation, and I was there to help make sure he'd get skin on it," Garcia said.
That skin reconstruction is what will allow Brown to be fitted for a prosthetic.
While in the hospital for months, every day brought new challenges. Brown leaned on the people around him to get through it.
"Well, tequila, I think, kind of hit most of it, didn't it? Didn't that do most of the job? No, it was just the support staff and the family," he said.
For Garcia, watching patients leave is never easy. But it is a success she doesn't take lightly, and knows a front door exit is always the goal.
"It's kind of like when you send your kid off to school for the first day, your heart's just kind of leaving your body and you see them going, but you know that they'll be back to see you again," Garcia said.
That's why Research Medical Center hosts reunions for patients to reconnect with their former caretakers.
"I knew you were saving my life," Brown told Dr. Garcia.
He reflected on what those months in the hospital were like.
"Every time Dr. Garcia came into my room — big smile, joyful, I would tear up," Brown said.
Now, Brown is focused on what comes next. Garcia said she has a clear goal in mind for her former patient.
"I want to see him out there cycling again," Garcia said.
Brown is already working toward that goal.
"I'm on a stationary bicycle right now," he said. "So what's interesting, both legs work the same way. But there's space right here where the foot used to be and the leg used to be."
Even being back at his home, Brown said his bond with the people who cared for him has not faded.
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