So there I was. 1st amputation carried out (4th toe of right foot) on 23 September 2009. Everything went ok initially - the district nurses were coming every other day to change the dressing. I had recall appt with the surgeon after 2 wks at which pint it was discovered that whoever had done the amputation had stitched packing into the wound socket. It had been in there all that time!
Surgeon was quite pleased but wanted to see me again in 3 wks. It's at this point things went down hill. I started to take an allergic reaction to any adhesive plaster the put on the wound & my foot started to blister & wither. When I went to see the surgeon on 1 Nov 2009 I was given a choice - I could have a partial foot amputation or below knee. Bear in mind now that the blockage causing the problem is in my ankle.
So after discussing with my other half I decided to opt for the below knee amputation. This was carried out on 9 November 2009 and I walked with a prosthesis 6 weeks & 3 days later on 23 December.
Shorter today as such a short period of time between amputations. It also helped that I took to this one like a duck takes to water. I had no major problems, the wound healed really quickly and I was extremely stubborn about doing things for myself.
Next time I'll talk a bit about recovery & getting mobile again!
Thursday 19 April 2012
Sunday 15 April 2012
The 2nd stage of my journey
Apologies folks, I originally thought I would tell this story in 2 parts but it deserves more than that. Sorry I'm not doing this regularly it still needs to become a habit rather than when I feel able to put finger to keypad!
So, where were we? Oh yes, just had sympathectomy on right side. I was off work for 3 months following that & felt everything was going ok, apart from 1 toe on my right foot. It had been hurting for a while & a little black area next to nail was starting to get larger.
So I went back to work, on reduced hours originally with the intention of building up to full time within 4 weeks.
After 3 weeks, while attending a meeting, someone stepped on my foot. Immediately I was concerned , cos at this point the toe was relatively ok. So I phoned my GP, who advised I go to casualty. So off I trot, without much success I may add as they weren't really interested.
As things turned out I had an appt with the podiatrists about 10 days later, at which point she phoned the surgeon who advised I should be admitted. So the wait began for a bed! It took 3 days to get a bed in the vascular ward. The surgeon took one look at it & said "that needs to come off". So I was settled into little ward & so began my 2 & a half yr relationship with the staff on this ward. I had the toe removed the following day in the hope that the rest of the foot would be ok. So with specialised shoe & crutches in tow I got home 10 days later with district nurses coming every other day to change the dressing.
I've bored you enough on this one. Time to go. Will speak soon. TTFN.
So, where were we? Oh yes, just had sympathectomy on right side. I was off work for 3 months following that & felt everything was going ok, apart from 1 toe on my right foot. It had been hurting for a while & a little black area next to nail was starting to get larger.
So I went back to work, on reduced hours originally with the intention of building up to full time within 4 weeks.
After 3 weeks, while attending a meeting, someone stepped on my foot. Immediately I was concerned , cos at this point the toe was relatively ok. So I phoned my GP, who advised I go to casualty. So off I trot, without much success I may add as they weren't really interested.
As things turned out I had an appt with the podiatrists about 10 days later, at which point she phoned the surgeon who advised I should be admitted. So the wait began for a bed! It took 3 days to get a bed in the vascular ward. The surgeon took one look at it & said "that needs to come off". So I was settled into little ward & so began my 2 & a half yr relationship with the staff on this ward. I had the toe removed the following day in the hope that the rest of the foot would be ok. So with specialised shoe & crutches in tow I got home 10 days later with district nurses coming every other day to change the dressing.
I've bored you enough on this one. Time to go. Will speak soon. TTFN.
Monday 9 April 2012
The first half of my story
This all began back in Nov/Dec 2008 when it was discovered during my annual diabetes review that I had some neuropathy (nerve damage) in my right foot. As a consequence the circulation in the foot was under threat. As a result of this I was referred to a vascular surgeon for review.
I met the vascular surgeon for the 1st time in Feb 2009 at which point he sent me for an MRI scan to see what circulation in leg was like.
When I saw him again in Mar/Apr 2009 the results were inconclusive so he arranged for me to come into hospital for an angiogram (this happened within days).
This showed that I had a blockage (calcification) in the ankle area. A bypass of the blockage was out of the question as it was too dangerous & too small a blood vessel. However, they could offer me something called a sympathectamy (alcohol -phenol- is injected into the sympathetic nerve through one of the lumbar vertebrae to kill the nerve and encourage the blood vessels to widen.
Everything all tickety boo then!
Next stage is for next time!
I met the vascular surgeon for the 1st time in Feb 2009 at which point he sent me for an MRI scan to see what circulation in leg was like.
When I saw him again in Mar/Apr 2009 the results were inconclusive so he arranged for me to come into hospital for an angiogram (this happened within days).
This showed that I had a blockage (calcification) in the ankle area. A bypass of the blockage was out of the question as it was too dangerous & too small a blood vessel. However, they could offer me something called a sympathectamy (alcohol -phenol- is injected into the sympathetic nerve through one of the lumbar vertebrae to kill the nerve and encourage the blood vessels to widen.
Everything all tickety boo then!
Next stage is for next time!
Saturday 7 April 2012
Hello
I'm 47 and I'm a bilateral below knee (bk) amputee. This is a relatively new thing for me & I wanted to record some of my journey as a blog, 1st step tho is to show u my legs. Over time I'll tell u all a bit more about my story but it's too long to bore u to death with right at the start so I'll give u some of that 2moro. 
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