It's enough to make a grown man cry.

At the age of 34, Harry Zeigler of Tamaqua was told he needed to have both of his hips replaced. The year was 2008 and Zeigler knew he had to do something if he wanted to walk relatively pain free and continue working at J.W. Zaprazny Inc. in New Ringgold. So, he had one hip replaced. It was an inconvenience, but all went well, so well that he put off surgery on the other hip for another five years.But that other hip proved to be pesky and in August of 2015, Zeigler knew he couldn't put off the second hip surgery any longer. The surgery was done at St. Luke's Hospital and all went well again. With the advancements made in the five years between surgeries, Zeigler found himself itching to get back to work just two weeks after being released."I've been working steadily since I was 14 years old. I'm not much for sitting around," he notes.His health insurance covered the bulk of the costs of the surgery and the remaining bills were manageable.That all changed rapidly when he developed an infection for which he was prescribed antibiotics. But the infection proved to be stubborn and Zeigler developed antibiotic toxicity which led to kidney problems. Zeigler was more stubborn than the infection though, recovering enough to return to work again.Early this year, he began having pain in his back. The pain was so bad he came home from work, showered and went straight to bed. He woke up to pain so extreme he couldn't get out of bed. His family called for an ambulance. The response they received was the first of what would turn out to be many frustrations."The ambulance was parked at the front of our driveway instead of coming up the drive. The crew told Harry to get up and walk to the ambulance, despite his telling them he couldn't move. When he tried, he screamed in pain," recalls his mother, Renee. "In the end, his brother, Ronnie, went out to the ambulance and came back with a stair chair." The family helped Zeigler get on to the chair and into the ambulance.The second frustration came at the hospital, where the family was told Zeigler was suffering from back spasms. "I'm not a doctor, but as a nurse, I knew it was more than back spasms," says his mom. After several hours in the emergency room, Zeigler was admitted and sent to a medical ward. His vital signs became so unstable, he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, where he spent four days.During his two week stay at the hospital in Coaldale, Zeigler underwent numerous CT scans looking for the source of an infection that was sending his temperature soaring to 105. After he underwent an MRI, things began moving swiftly. The imaging test detected an abscess on his spine. he was also diagnosed as being septic. He was immediately transferred to another hospital, where he received intensive treatment for another three weeks before being released. "I was told if my family hadn't been insistent, I would have died. I had to learn to walk all over again, but I was finally able to return to work in the last week," Zeigler says.Those five weeks in the hospital took a physical and mental toll on the Zeigler family. It also left them with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses.Enter family friends Mickey Kunkel and Terry Zeigler, who began arranging fundraisers to help defray the costs. The latest is a spaghetti dinner and Chinese Auction on Saturday at the West Penn Rod and Gun Club, 1047 Clamtown Road. Hours for the dinner will be from 2 p.m. to sell out, while the auction will take place from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. You do not need to be present to win.Was it the pain, the brush with death, the astronomical medical bills or the unprofessional initial treatment he received that brought Zeigler to tears? No, it was the thought of his family and friends, and their love for him, that brought tears to this grown man's eyes."I'll never be able to thank Mickey and Terry, my brothers (Ronnie and Tim) and my sister (Jennifer Fegley), the people at the West Penn Rod and Gun Club, and so many others, for stepping in and offering so much love and support."