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Post by nrsme133 on Apr 17, 2012 2:35:06 GMT -7
Hi Everyone!
I am new to your boards as of today, and so thought I should introduce myself and give you the history of what leads me to the amputation. I am an RN, and 12 years ago I was reaching for a notebook when my lab coat caught on a "heavy" 3-hole punch and fell on my foot. It broke my heel. "not to worry this is a clean and simple we will just go in and clean it up and you will be back to work in no time. Well, 12 years later I still haven't set foot back to work. I got CRPS/RSD in my foot and leg. I know that this isn't the prescribed treatment for CRPS/RSD, but I have had 2 spinal cord simulators, I have a implanted pain pump that is no longer working, and everything Pain Management tries comes up as a zero. Add to that, the wasting away of the muscle tissue and that I am tired of dragging this useless thing around with me. So, I will find out on the 25th of April when we are scheduling the surgery for. It will be an AKA. I will appreciate any and all information/tips/tricks and what to expect from anyone in the forums!
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Post by stonecutter on Apr 17, 2012 8:45:32 GMT -7
Wow - sorry to hear about that.
Welcome to these forums. Although you're an RN and probably seen a lot in your career, there is a wealth of knowledge in the membership here.
Read around, if there are any questions or if there's a thread you'd like to comment on (no matter how old the thread) please post a comment.
Thanks for joining up.
Trevor.
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ann58
Female Member 
Posts: 278
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Post by ann58 on Apr 17, 2012 14:21:06 GMT -7
nrsme133 ~ grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair & start asking any questions U want to know about {as stonecutter} just told U. We hate to get friends this way, but we are so glad U decided to join us. My daughter in law is also an RN and had never seen a new amputation until she dressed mine. I am sure our people can answer just about anything U want to know. They have helped me so much. ;o}
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Post by barclay on Apr 17, 2012 21:04:56 GMT -7
Hi nrsme133 - that CRPS/RSD does not sound easy to live with. Welcome to the board though!
Best,
Cynthia
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Post by cherylm on Apr 17, 2012 23:20:04 GMT -7
Another welcome here, from a gal who also wound up with an amputation after a stupid little accident that broke my left foot. I gave up on getting a good repair of my fracture after several tries over the course of just over a year...and yes, it was a relief to get my useless foot out of my life and be able to "just get on with it."
Do ask questions, poke around the various threads here and generally make yourself at home!
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Post by allenuk on Apr 18, 2012 2:42:12 GMT -7
nrsme: as you've concluded, living with constant pain and 'dragging around a useless thing' is NOT something people can help with. But being an amputee most definitely IS. As my friends have already said, one way and another we've been through it, so ask your questions, and we'll be able to help.
Best wishes,
Allen, bka, London.
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ann58
Female Member
Posts: 278
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Post by ann58 on Apr 19, 2012 8:45:42 GMT -7
Allen, I don't remember if I have already told U, but I do like ur new picture. Don't forget to put up your Santa Claus one for Christmas. BTW, how are U coming on your last leg..ever get it to fit? They r working on one for me now...{hate this} seems it takes forever to get a new one to feel good.
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Post by allenuk on Apr 19, 2012 12:29:41 GMT -7
The new pic is pretty accurate, unlike Santy Claus (which I will dig out for Christmas, just for you...)
Legs? New leg hurts like hell. Old leg is okay, but not a great walker - 500 yards if I'm lucky.
To be quite frank, I have Given Up. I shall never walk again, at least not in the way I want to, which is strolling round Kew Gardens or around my local parks, and the prosthetic industry isn't going to help. I am lucky to have reasonable general health, plus my electric bike. Shame, but there comes a time when there is no longer any point in chasing dreams.
A
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Post by cherylm on Apr 20, 2012 0:05:38 GMT -7
Oh, Allen, that's a sad realization....if sometimes unavoidable. Please promise that you'll at least keep an eye on any new developments in BK prosthetics and pursue the ones that sound as if they may be promising. A dream delayed might still be achieved with some future technology...and I'd hate to see you miss out on that!
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Post by allenuk on Apr 20, 2012 12:40:41 GMT -7
It is sad to some extent, Cherylm, but in another way liberating.
Rather than looking all the time to 'six months from now' or 'next year sometime', I can do a bit of concentrating on The Now, and making the best of what I've got, which is a lot more than some poor sods.
Sure, I'd rather walk as I did in that first year after amputation, but I'd rather be 85kg and 32 years old as well!
A.
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ann58
Female Member
Posts: 278
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Post by ann58 on Apr 21, 2012 21:27:24 GMT -7
Will have to admit I am having more trouble going up & down stairs than before. Been having back problems also...but guess that's a common ailment for amputees.  You sound like u are just a touch depressed...beat u to it..already take something for that. It was either a pill or cry all day {hubby } voted for the pill LOL Thanks for granting me my Christmas Wish . Will hold u to that!  |
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Post by ann- on Apr 22, 2012 11:17:34 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum Nrsme, good luck on the 25th.
Allen .....Your new leg sounds familiar, and your old leg sounds a bit like my current ones .... I know you're being realistic, but don't give up on a comfy leg ... can't tell you how many times I have been in this scenario ... and currently I am several years down the line of not getting comfy legs .... though the latest pair is quite hopeful ...... keep pushing and asking for answers.
Ann
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Post by allenuk on Apr 23, 2012 0:15:35 GMT -7
Ann, Ann, thanks for the support.
Trouble is essentially one of outlook. I never really agreed with Dylan Thomas's "Do not go gentle into that good night"; on the contrary.
I suppose it's all a question of timing, though. There is a time when battles are worth fighting, then there comes a time when they're not.
A.
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Post by ann- on Apr 24, 2012 0:38:44 GMT -7
Allen, think I understand what you are saying and do agree somewhat over time, and when battles are worth fighting ..... somewhere at that point myself at the moment, believe or not ...... as you know I have moved around a few different centres over the last ten or fifiteen years trying to get back to where I was before I started developing problems .... at times its definitely kept or re-got me mobile again ... but learned a lot along the way.
The main turning point for me was the surgery I had (as it was getting impossible to get any prosthesis made I could walk in ... anywhere) and also going to different centres where there was more expertise and where they carried out investigations .... but I know you go to a pretty specialist centre already!
At the moment my new pair are ok...ish indoors .... but am not that confident going anywhere for any length of time and perhaps continued walking, yet .... am trying to break them in very gently as these have been deliberately made quite a bit tighter, as the others are way to big.
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You sound like u are just a touch depressed...beat u to it..already take something for that. It was either a pill or cry all day {hubby } voted for the pill LOL
