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Post by tinav66 on Jul 13, 2014 22:19:39 GMT -7
Hi, my name is Tina. I am 47 years old mother of three from California. I had my leg amputated May 23, 2014 due to a clot. I had to have a another surgery about 2 weeks ago due to infection. I am on the mend at home with a wound vac (yucK). I thought it would be cool to talk to people that also have / are going through similar situation as me.
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Post by stonecutter on Jul 14, 2014 15:28:09 GMT -7
Hiya Tina, Welcome to the forums.
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Post by tinav66 on Jul 14, 2014 18:18:33 GMT -7
Hi and thank you Trevor. Hope all is well with you!
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Post by cherylm on Jul 15, 2014 1:39:30 GMT -7
Hi, Tina, and welcome! I'm also in California (North Bay area) and I cringed at your mention of the wound vac. Yucky, yes...but they can do some miraculous things.
Are you an above- or below-knee amputee? I'm a BK of nearly 10 years, myself. Mine was due to the repeated breakdown of a tricky fracture in my left foot...eventually a bone chip broke away and punctured the sole of my foot, infection set in, and I decided I did not want to go through that again and asked them to take the leg. It turned out to be a good decision...I've been more-or-less active and happy ever since.
Hope your recovery goes well fromhere on out!
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Post by tinav66 on Jul 15, 2014 21:39:36 GMT -7
Hi and thanks for the welcome. I am in San Bruno not too far from San Francisco. I have heard that the wound vac really is great. I just hate the bandage changes ( I can be such a wimp sometimes...lol).
I am below the knee amputee. My amputation was due to a auto immune disease I have. Had clots in both my feet. The doctor was able to save my left and tried really hard to save my right but in the end he wasn't able to. I am hoping to heal and be able to get fitted for a leg. I really want to get back to work and just life in general. I have a really hard time not being able to do for myself. My family has been very supportive which I am thankful for.
Thanks again!
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Post by cherylm on Jul 16, 2014 0:15:48 GMT -7
"I have a really hard time not being able to do for myself." Oh boy...does that sound familiar! Don't worry...in time you'll get back to being independent. Just realize that everyone needs some help once in a while and let your family and friends pitch in while you're healing and getting the hang of the amputee stuff. There are times when you'll need to work really hard at the entire recovery/fitting/prosthesis business, and that's when you need to save your energy to devote to those tasks...don't waste your reserves on tasks that someone is willing and able to help you with. How close are you to healing? Having a wound vac sounds like it may still be a way off, but I hope you'll be able to start fittings for a prosthesis in the not-too-distant future. I didn't have problems with my incision healing, but I had tons of post-op swelling that held me up for what seemed like forever...it was four months post-op before they could start casting me for my first leg, then another month of fittings, adjustments, and just generally "toughening up" before I was allowed to go back to work. I was never so happy to be able to get up at the crack of dawn and go into the office!  Have you met with a prosthetist yet? It can be helpful to do so, if only to get an idea of how you feel about working with them and finding out what they anticipate being able to do for you. Your "leg guys" will become some of the most important folks in your life for at least the first year or two, so being able to communicate well with them is a genuinely big deal. Hang in there..."talk" to you soon!
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Post by tinav66 on Jul 18, 2014 18:39:21 GMT -7
The doctor said that I will probably have the wound vac for another 6 weeks. I am not sure how long before I will be healed enough to be fitted. I had previously met with a person that discussed briefly that she would be assisting me with the fitting once I was healed. I feel that the healing process is like watching grass grow. Mentally I am ready physically I am not.
I am trying my best to be positive and patient. I know that this will be a long process. I really appreciate being able to talk to people here and reading the posts have been helpful.
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Post by stonecutter on Jul 21, 2014 6:45:52 GMT -7
I know that feeling! Being ready mentally but waiting for that stump to catch up is frustrating. There's a lot of sitting and thinking isn't there! Keep occupied, keep it elevated, wrapped, etc...
It'll be ready before you know it.
Keep us posted!
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