Though he is very much locked in on tackling his latest challenge, last fall’s unexpected health scare certainly had an impact on the jovial family man.
“I was in shock because I was feeling great and then somehow I got that bacteria in my leg,” said Dos Santos. “I was healthy, I take care of myself, and that’s when I realized how fragile we are.
“I was in the hospital for nine days. Even while I was in the hospital, I was thinking to myself, ‘I’ll be here for a couple days to recover from this and I’m not going to pull out of the fight.’ I was going to still fight, keep dancing, and keep my challenges. The doctor came to me after one week in the hospital, I told him that and he said, ‘You’re not understanding what is happening here. You’re lucky because if you took one or two more days to come to the hospital, you could lose your leg, at the very least.’
“That was one of the things that I couldn’t believe,” he added. “We have to pay attention to the good things in life because from nothing, I could have died. That’s crazy!
“I’m a family guy and now I give even more value to spending time with them because that’s the most important part of life — your family, your kids; there is nothing like this. My career is very important in my life, but I can deal with whatever happens in my career. It’s different with my family — I have to keep my focus on them, to care for my children, and guide my children to have a good life.”