Post by mikel on Feb 11, 2023 11:28:53 GMT -7
Hi folks. I’m a 60 yo man from Indiana. I’d been having pain in what I thought was my knee for several months which was growing more debilitating by the day. Had some x-rays done but unfortunately they weren’t read by a radiologist so we pursued some dead end exercise therapy. This went on until one morning I rolled over in bed and felt a big pop. Excruciating pain followed and I was unable to walk from that point.
My wife came home from work and with her help and that of a neighbor they were able to get me into our car and we made it to the emergency room. It was there we found out I had fractured my femur. This was due to a severely weakened bone due to a large tumor in the bone right above my knee.
We found a good doctor and he performed surgery to biopsy the tumor and stabilize the leg with a plate and a few screws. The news wasn’t good. It was a sarcoma and every bit of it had to go. The doctor ran us through the limb salvage and amputation options. Limb salvage was complicated by the fact that there is a rod in my femur which was broken in a motorcycle accident 35 years previous. I was looking at multiple surgeries and the prospect of a severely disabled leg in the end. We chose amputation.
I’m was four weeks out from amputation yesterday. Things are going well. The incision is healing well and I’m getting around well at home with a walker. Visited the prosthetist for the first time this week and got my first shrinker socks. Within a couple weeks I’ll be starting on the first of three rounds of chemotherapy, so not really looking forward to that. I still have hair so there is some trauma associated.
The upshot is that I’ll be working toward getting my first prosthetic leg during this same period.
Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to share my story. I have lots of questions, but I’ll try to find the appropriate place to post those.
Thanks again
Mikel
My wife came home from work and with her help and that of a neighbor they were able to get me into our car and we made it to the emergency room. It was there we found out I had fractured my femur. This was due to a severely weakened bone due to a large tumor in the bone right above my knee.
We found a good doctor and he performed surgery to biopsy the tumor and stabilize the leg with a plate and a few screws. The news wasn’t good. It was a sarcoma and every bit of it had to go. The doctor ran us through the limb salvage and amputation options. Limb salvage was complicated by the fact that there is a rod in my femur which was broken in a motorcycle accident 35 years previous. I was looking at multiple surgeries and the prospect of a severely disabled leg in the end. We chose amputation.
I’m was four weeks out from amputation yesterday. Things are going well. The incision is healing well and I’m getting around well at home with a walker. Visited the prosthetist for the first time this week and got my first shrinker socks. Within a couple weeks I’ll be starting on the first of three rounds of chemotherapy, so not really looking forward to that. I still have hair so there is some trauma associated.
The upshot is that I’ll be working toward getting my first prosthetic leg during this same period.Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to share my story. I have lots of questions, but I’ll try to find the appropriate place to post those.
Thanks again
Mikel
