Has anybody here had a limb amputated?

maumau

maumau

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A family member had an operation in June to fix a rugby injury to his ankle.

He has celiac disease, he smokes and he drinks a few beers every day. Apart from that he's healthy and relatively active but plays no sport.

Since the first operation things have gone downhill for him and two separate skin grafts have failed to take. Complications set in similar to those experienced by diabetics. The poor guy's been through hell, he's been in hospital for the past few weeks on intravenous antibiotics and painkillers.

Last week the doctors said they'd have to amputate his big toe because the flesh had died. He was so upset at the thought but put on a brave face and had it removed yesterday.

This morning he phoned his wife, my sister, incoherent and sobbing - doctors told him he had a bone infection so they had removed his heel when they did his toe. He will never walk again without crutches. The infection is drug resistant and they recommend amputation. They've given him until Friday to decide whether he wasn't them to amputate. We're hoping it will be below the knee but will only get more details tomorrow.

I've been wondering how it feels to be wheeled into theater knowing you'll come out with one leg gone :( :( :(

I won't mention the specialists or the hospital but they are private and expensive.
 
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Sucks.

I'd def tell the docs to cut as much as needed though. That infections sounds kark scary.

If its below the knees then it shouldn't be too bad imo. The prosthetics seem decent enough (@pistorius) and with one leg left he won't have to balance on them.
 
Thanks guys.

It's difficult putting a positive spin on losing a leg, or hopefully a lower leg. Agreed that's not too bad, prosthetics today are amazing.

What everybody's thinking but not saying is this - what if they amputate and the infection gets into the new wound :( or, like HavocXphere says, they don't get it all.

You couldn't meet a nicer, kinder man. There isn't a mean bone in his body. I feel so sorry for him lying in hospital thinking about what's going to happen. My sister's in shock so she's kind of shut down. Fortunately we work together so I can keep an eye on her.


/shivers
 
maumau said:
You couldn't meet a nicer, kinder man. There isn't a mean bone in his body.
Click to expand...

Actually there is and that's why they removing it. Jokes aside, its something he can learn to live with as opposed to having no hands or being a quadriplegic.
Strength to him and his family.
 
:)

Very fortunate it's only a lower leg. Got to think positively.

Agreed, he will adapt. He has a tight knit family, three beautiful daughters, loves his house and his job. He's the type of person who'll recover quickly once the wound has healed.
 
We went through this a few years back when someone in our family lost both his legs below the knees. At the time it was devastating news and was difficult to come to terms with. Eventually with family and friends support we all made it through. It is tough in the beginning but it will get better with time. Just look at that SA female swimmer who lost her leg a few years ago. She went on to become a great international athlete. Although it might seem so now but all is not lost and things will get better. Just be there for him and don't be scared to speak about it. One thing we always found funny is that he would say his foot is itching and he wants to scratch it. Sometimes it would drive him a bit mad because there was nothing there but the sensation persisted.
 
maumau said:
A family member had an operation in June to fix a rugby injury to his ankle.

He has celiac disease, he smokes and he drinks a few beers every day. Apart from that he's healthy and relatively active but plays no sport.

Since the first operation things have gone downhill for him and two separate skin grafts have failed to take. Complications set in similar to those experienced by diabetics. The poor guy's been through hell, he's been in hospital for the past few weeks on intravenous antibiotics and painkillers.

Last week the doctors said they'd have to amputate his big toe because the flesh had died. He was so upset at the thought but put on a brave face and had it removed yesterday.

This morning he phoned his wife, my sister, incoherent and sobbing - doctors told him he had a bone infection so they had removed his heel when they did his toe. He will never walk again without crutches. The infection is drug resistant and they recommend amputation. They've given him until Friday to decide whether he wasn't them to amputate. We're hoping it will be below the knee but will only get more details tomorrow.

I've been wondering how it feels to be wheeled into theater knowing you'll come out with one leg gone :( :( :(

I won't mention the specialists or the hospital but they are private and expensive.
Click to expand...

Smoking is his biggest problem. I affects the blood vessels curtailing the healing process. My Father in law had the same. He decided to amputate above the knee to prevent any possible second amputation. Mentally he never recovered. Refused rehabilitation exercises, even had his therapist in tears, and as such lost any chance for a free prosthesis leg.

Some info

http://www.amputee-coalition.org/resources/prosthetic-faqs-for-the-new-amputee/
https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc_002_0936.pdf
 
maumau said:
A family member had an operation in June to fix a rugby injury to his ankle.

He has celiac disease, he smokes and he drinks a few beers every day. Apart from that he's healthy and relatively active but plays no sport.

Since the first operation things have gone downhill for him and two separate skin grafts have failed to take. Complications set in similar to those experienced by diabetics. The poor guy's been through hell, he's been in hospital for the past few weeks on intravenous antibiotics and painkillers.

Last week the doctors said they'd have to amputate his big toe because the flesh had died. He was so upset at the thought but put on a brave face and had it removed yesterday.

This morning he phoned his wife, my sister, incoherent and sobbing - doctors told him he had a bone infection so they had removed his heel when they did his toe. He will never walk again without crutches. The infection is drug resistant and they recommend amputation. They've given him until Friday to decide whether he wasn't them to amputate. We're hoping it will be below the knee but will only get more details tomorrow.

I've been wondering how it feels to be wheeled into theater knowing you'll come out with one leg gone :( :( :(

I won't mention the specialists or the hospital but they are private and expensive.
Click to expand...

Smoking is his biggest problem. It affects the blood vessels and blood flow to the lower leg and feet curtailing the healing process by restricting required oxygen for the healing process. My Father in law had exactly the same scenario. Sore on foot would not heal. Cost me thousands in medicine trying to save the foot/leg. We got him to quit smoking and just as there was some improvement I went away overseas for a few weeks he stopped all treatment and listened to a quack selling him special water to cure the foot and he started smoking again. Thus it went downhill fast and on my return was to late to recover. They wanted to amputate the foot but he decided to amputate above the knee rather than risking any chance of a possible second amputation. Mentally he never recovered. Refused rehabilitation exercises, even had his therapist in tears, and as such lost any chance for a free prosthesis leg.

Some info

http://www.amputee-coalition.org/resources/prosthetic-faqs-for-the-new-amputee/
https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc_002_0936.pdf
 
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It's encouraging that your FIL (and his family) survived such a horrible procedure Seriously and thanks for the links. I had no idea there was such an organisation. Sorry to hear he hasn't recovered mentally :(

We all know smoking is unhealthy but who would have thought it would be so devastating. His docs have also said lack of oxygen to the wound was inhibiting healing so we've given him an e-cigarette. His personality sounds similar to your FIL in that he used to be wheeled outside for a smoke but he's in such shock chances are he might give up.

We expect to hear more detail from the doctors today. Holding thumbs.
 
maumau said:
It's encouraging that your FIL (and his family) survived such a horrible procedure Seriously and thanks for the links. I had no idea there was such an organisation. Sorry to hear he hasn't recovered mentally :(

We all know smoking is unhealthy but who would have thought it would be so devastating. His docs have also said lack of oxygen to the wound was inhibiting healing so we've given him an e-cigarette. His personality sounds similar to your FIL in that he used to be wheeled outside for a smoke but he's in such shock chances are he might give up.

We expect to hear more detail from the doctors today. Holding thumbs.
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This is part of the problem.

Naturally I'm not pointing a finger at you, just the general societal ignorance about the specific dangers smoking entails. We all know smoking is "unhealthy", but we leave it at that - a description so vague as to be effectively meaningless. It's what it actually does to your body that matters.

My one uncle's colleague (late 50s) had to get (relatively minor) ankle surgery, but the wound simply refused to heal due to the damage to his blood vessels - from smoking. Created endless problems down the line. Apparently many surgeons refuse to operate because of this.
 
second opinion from a different doctor maybe?

My colleague almost got his leg amputated last month. Was told its some desease - but story also similar to what you just told.
He refused & fell ill & was in ICU as well (complications & the infection also became worse - he still refused to amputate at that time).

When he came out he still refused to be amputated & went to a different doctor. New doctor ran different type of tests & put him on some meds & what-not. Now he's ok, has lost alot of weight (prev-180kg - now 100kg) & also stopped smoking. He still has both legs.
 
OrbitalDawn said:
...............Apparently many surgeons refuse to operate because of this.
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We've also heard this. Damage to the body caused by smoking is incalculable.

ice_cubes said:
second opinion from a different doctor maybe?
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Thank you ice_cubes, his sister is insisting on a second opinion.

ice_cubes said:
My colleague almost got his leg amputated last month. Was told its some desease - but story also similar to what you just told. He refused & fell ill & was in ICU as well (complications & the infection also became worse - he still refused to amputate at that time).

When he came out he still refused to be amputated & went to a different doctor. New doctor ran different type of tests & put him on some meds & what-not. Now he's ok, has lost alot of weight (prev-180kg - now 100kg) & also stopped smoking. He still has both legs.
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That's a happy story ice_cubes, it must have been scary when he landed up in ICU, I'm pleased your uncle recovered :D
 
Today the swelling has gone down and his doctors have given him more time to make a decision.

He's going to discuss his options with another specialist before agreeing to amputation, but seems in a better frame of mind today. He might have come to terms with the idea but needs to make sure because there's no going back :(
 
OMG .... this is horrible. I cant imagine having to make that decision. I think for me, just put me in a medically induced coma, assign my sister as my medical proxy and do what needs to be done and wake me up 3 months later. I know that this is not the worst thing that can happen, but it is a massive thing to loose a limb for anyone I am sure.
 
Sorry to hear. It is not the end though. Hope your family member can remain positive.

A very good friend of mine (more like a brother) had both his legs and one arm amputated after a work accident.

He has always remained positive and is currently playing Wheelchair Rugby for South Africa.

WheelchairRugby.jpg
 
Supportive family is key of course. Koos was married for less than a year when the accident happened.

His wife supported him all the way which helped a lot.
 
OrbitalDawn said:
My one uncle's colleague (late 50s) had to get (relatively minor) ankle surgery, but the wound simply refused to heal due to the damage to his blood vessels - from smoking. Created endless problems down the line. Apparently many surgeons refuse to operate because of this.
Click to expand...

+100 - A colleague who worked with my father smoked packs a day combined with being seriously overweight. Went in to hospital for what should have been a minor procedure with 1-2 days in hospital, never recovered properly, 40 days in hospital and then the slow decline until she passed away. Very unexpected - everyone thinks cancer but the other health effects can be just as dangerous.
 
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