An inspirational armless farmer from Ohio who became a YouTube star for driving machinery with his feet has passed away at 52 from an aneurysm.
Thomas Andrew ‘Andy’ Detwiler, of Urbana, near Columbus, died on September 21 after suffering an aneurysm after he contracted pneumonia. He was also being treated for esophageal cancer.
His wife Corkey said in a farewell video she noticed Andy had started ‘breathing funny’ the day before he passed.
The following day the couple headed to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and had low sugar levels.
After medical staff was able to level out his sugar, he said he started feeling better, according to Corkey, but then he suddenly sat up straight and gasped in pain.
‘He couldn’t catch his breath, he was looking at me terrified,’ Corkey said in the video. ‘He couldn’t speak.’
They would have to intubate him and had plans to send him to a hospital in Springfield, but he ‘crashed’ before they could load him up in the ambulance.
‘He died in Urbana,’ Corkey said, her voice thick with emotion. Despite Detwiler’s missing arms – which were lost in a childhood farming accident – he didn’t let his disabilities stop him.
The farmer, who had a large following on YouTube, learned to shoot a gun, drive a tractor and feed animals all without arms.
Thomas Andrew ‘Andy’ Detwiler, of Urbana, near Columbus, died on September 21 after suffering an aneurysm after he contracted pneumonia
The YouTube star and farmer shared many videos with his 130,000 followers, including a shot of him driving a tractor
After losing his arms in a farming incident when he was two, the farmer learned to using his feet and legs to maneuver through life, including learning how to drive, feed animals, and shoot a gun
In addition to the aneurysm, he was being treated for esophageal cancer and shared updates on his YouTube page
Despite his health struggles, Andy was able to smile through the pain
Andy lost his arms after he fell into a grain auger, which amputated his arms. He fought for his life for five weeks in the hospital
Andy lost his arms on July 18, 1972, when he was two years old. His grandfather, Bick Detwiler, was operating a grain auger and would periodically reach back to the auger to test the wheat for moisture.
Andy, who had been nearby watching, decided to mimic his grandfather and when he went to stick his hand into the auger, he fell into the spiral-shaped drill.
By the time his grandfather was able to pull him out, Andy’s arms had been amputated.
After five long weeks in the hospital, the young boy survived, eventually growing up and having his own daughter, Kylie, who was often seen in his YouTube videos.
His mother, Patricia, once recalled the moment she knew the young Andy would be okay without his arms was when he covered himself with a blanket by using his toes to grip the fabric, flicking it up to cover himself.
‘It landed perfectly on him,’ she said in a 2019 YouTube video. ‘From that moment on, I knew he’d be okay.’
Andy stuck to the family business and would run his own 300-acre section of corn and soybean fields.
He would also learned how to build his own farm equipment, loosen screws, paint antique farm equipment, operate a snow plow, and more – all of which he did while filming for his channel.
In his childhood, a local paper even did a spotlight article on him, showing him taking a test by holding a clipboard in one foot and a writing utensil in the other.
‘The blue-eyed youngster with the mischievous grin leads an active, happy life with the support of understanding parents who refuse to coddle him,’ the Spring News-Sun wrote when he was 7.
‘Growing up, there wasn’t anybody that could teach me anything because nobody knew anybody that was like me,’ he said in a YouTube video. ‘I pretty much taught myself everything.’
The family shared a smiling snap of all of three them as they drove to an unknown location
Corkey and Andy married in 1996, after they dated for four years (pictured)
Andy with his daughter Kylie, who oftentimes appeared in his YouTube videos
Andy and Corkey started dating in 1992 and appeared in several photos and YouTube videos over the years
The farmer inspired many, including other farm families suffering through cancer.
‘Andy, I’ve had my daughter watch your videos. She’s been fighting cancer and has many struggles. I’ve told her she can overcome anything if she puts her mind to it,’ on viewer wrote on one of his videos.
Andy’s family will not being holding a traditional funeral for him, as he did not want to laid up in a funeral home, according to his wife.
‘Andy and I had talked about different things about when he died. No funeral homes no hearse, anything like that,’ Corkey said in the farewell video.
Although they are still deciding where to have it, they are considering hosting it at the family farm, which they’ve owned since 1904.
‘I just want to have it at the farm,’ Corkey said. ‘That’s where he went was every day, that’s what he loved.’
Corkey and Andy met in 1992 after he showed up at her doorstep at 2am and shouted from the front porch that he wanted to date her. They would marry four years later.
He started making videos in 2018 in hopes of making a few extra pennies. His following would later grow to 130,000 and he reportedly read every comment.
They also thanked all of Andy’s YouTube fans for the ‘outpouring of support.’
‘We can’t thank you enough,’ the family said in a goodbye video.
The farmer even ate with his fork, showing off how he ate his loaded baked potato by pinching his fork between his toes
Andy with his parents and brothers around a dinner table near Christmas time
Andy is pictured driving a golf cart whiling wheeling around family members
Andy didn’t let his disability get in the way of living a satisfying and happy life
He was often seen in his photos smiling and enjoy every moment of his short life