‘DWTS’ finalist, Paralympian Amy Purdy beat 2% survival odds, lost both legs

Paralympic medalist andDancing with the stars“ Finalist Amy Purdy says her life changed within hours when she was just 19 years old – when doctors told her her chance of surviving the devastating disease was less than 2%.

Today, she shares how she rebuilt her life after losing both her legs below the knees in a new book aimed at helping others overcome life-changing setbacks.

In an exclusive on-camera interview with Fox News Digital, Purdy recalled the moment everything changed.

“I was 19 when I lost my legs below the knees due to something called bacterial meningitis,” Purdy said. “We have no idea how I got into it. I was a massage therapist at the time. I was also an avid snowboarder, and my goal was to travel the world and snowboard.”

Paralympian and “Dancing with the Stars” finalist Amy Purdy says that within 24 hours of falling ill, she was on life support. (Nora Schiffer)

The “Bounce Forward” author explained how her health deteriorated almost immediately.

“Then suddenly one day I got sick,” she said. “Within 24 hours, I was in hospital on life support, given less than a 2% chance of living, and I ended up contracting bacterial meningitis.”

WATCH: ‘DWTS’ Finalist Paralympian Amy Purdy Beats 2% Odds After Losing Her Legs

The infection caused septic shock, devastating her body.

“I ended up fighting for my life. I lost my legs below the knees due to septic shock. I ended up losing my kidney function, my spleen, and the hearing in my left ear — I barely survived,” Purdy said.

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Amy Purdy smiles as she sits on a chair in a cozy studio photo, wearing a white top and jeans with her prosthetic legs showing. (Nora Schiffer)

For the then-teenager, whose identity revolved around snowboarding and adventure, survival meant starting over.

“I ended up having to, you know, figure out who I was again in the world and how I wanted to live my life and how to put one little step in front of the next, and ultimately made my way, not just backwards, but forwards in a way that I never could have imagined,” she said. “I ended up going further than I ever imagined, but it took a lot of steps to get there.”

“I was 19 when I lost my legs below the knees due to something called bacterial meningitis.”

-Amy Purdy

Those steps eventually led Purdy to the Paralympics, where she medaled in figure skating — and later to the ballroom stage of “Dancing with the Stars,” where she competed alongside a professional dancer. Derek Hough.

But Purdy admitted that the show brought a deeply personal challenge that most viewers didn’t realize.

WATCH: ‘DWTS’ finalist Amy Purdy turned fear into breakthrough while competing

“When I was on Dancing with the Stars, I had no idea if I would be able to do it with prosthetic legs,” she said.

I initially turned down this opportunity due to an obstacle that most dancers would take for granted.

“One of my biggest fears going on the show, and actually I originally said I didn’t want to be on the show, is that I can’t point my toes,” Purdy said. “And it’s very difficult. I mean, as a dancer, you have to be able to point your toes.”

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With her prosthetic feet attached at a 90-degree angle, it seemed impossible, until she discovered a creative solution.

Paralympic skater Amy Purdy attends the 10th anniversary of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” on April 21, 2015, in West Hollywood, California. (David Livingston/Getty Images)

“I remembered seeing these swimming feet in a magazine,” she said, referring to this. Designed prosthetics For swimming fins that allow the toes to point.

“I was able to point my toes with those feet,” Purdy said. “And it healed something inside me because suddenly I felt really feminine.”

She said moments like these helped her reconnect with parts of herself she thought she lost after her illness.

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“There are little moments through ‘Dancing with the Stars’ that helped me find parts of myself that I thought I had lost,” she said. “At the end of the day, they were always there.”

Amy Purdy and professional dancer Derek Hough strike a powerful pose during a live performance on Dancing with the Stars. (Adam Taylor/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Purdy opens up inside her even more next book, “Bounce forward.”

The book marks the first time she has shared in depth what happened after her early success—including the moments when she had to rebuild all over again.

“I think the hardest chapter to write in this book was the first chapter, which was about grief,” Purdy said.

American star Brenna Huckabee is eyeing a fourth gold medal at the Paralympic Games in Milan after having her leg amputated at the age of 14.

This chapter revisits the traumatic period in which doctors predicted a dramatically limited future.

“It was the beginning of the journey of hurting my leg and not knowing what I would be able to do again, and in fact the doctors told me, ‘You’ll probably never walk comfortably again. You’ll probably never be able to snowboard again,'” she said.

WATCH: ‘DWTS’ finalist Amy Purdy details painful chapter on ‘BOUNCE FORWARD’

At one point, the surgeon displayed a grim look, she said.

“I remember one of the surgeons said, ‘Well, I hope you walk to the end of your driveway and take your mail out of the mailbox someday,'” Purdy recalled.

“You can rebuild and change yourself over and over again.”

-Amy Purdy

But Purdy backed away, reminding the doctors who she was.

“I had to… beg and tell him who I was,” she said. Like, “No, I’m a competitive athlete.” I skate for seven hours a day. You’ve been on “Dancing with the Stars.” I train every day. I walk through airports. I’m very energetic.’ And he was like, ‘I don’t think you’ll ever be able to do these things again.’

“So, writing that first chapter and going back to the feelings of losing my identity and who I thought I was, that was one of the hardest times in my life and one of the hardest chapters to write,” she said.

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“Bounce Forward” by Amy Purdy is currently available for pre-order and will be released on April 14. (post amplification)

Through Bounce Forward, Purdy hopes to help others rethink how they deal with life’s obstacles.

Instead of trying to “rebound” to the person they were before, the book encourages readers to move forward toward something new. It summarizes 21 tools Purdy developed during her own journey of loss, reinvention, and recovery.

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After overcoming 2% odds of survival and rebuilding her life from the ground up, the Paralympian shares a perseverance-based game plan for resilience in her new book.

“For someone reading this, who thinks they’re starting over, what I want them to hear is: ‘Yes, you can start over,'” Purdy told Fox News Digital. “And you can rebuild and change yourself over and over again.”

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“Life is not about putting everything together perfectly,” she added. “It’s about being able to live the best way you can, even if you’re facing adversity… So, every day you have an opportunity to wake up and decide how you’re going to live your life. I hope this book helps people do that.”

“Bounce Forward” It is available for pre-order and will be officially released on April 14.

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