mubls
New Member
Posts: 1
|
Yes or no
Aug 27, 2014 16:48:05 GMT -7
via mobile
Post by mubls on Aug 27, 2014 16:48:05 GMT -7
I was in a motorcycle accident in 1997, resulting in a subtalar dislocation and a boat load of scar tissue. At the time there was talk of amputation...I said nuhuh! Now, my foot hurts, quite a bit. My foot and ankle joint is totally wonky. I can walk, tho. Three years later I broke my pelvis, same side. That's also a pain in my hip . I've talked to an ortho or two. One suggested amputation of my lower leg. Yikes!!! He also suggested I reach out to people with prosthetics. I would love advice, accounts, info. Thanks!!!
|
|
|
Post by cherylm on Aug 30, 2014 0:35:51 GMT -7
Hi, mubls, and welcome! Well, my first questions would be "how much pain" and how well are you able to do that "walking?" Since doctors generally don't like to recommend amputations, I assume that the one ortho who has done so feels he has a good reason for it. Did the others have valid reasons for keeping the leg at present, or did they just seem like they didn't like recommending amputation? Those are questions you should consider seriously as you go about making up your mind. Truly, you are the one who needs to choose your course at this point, and it's nice if you can feel that you've made that choice based on good advice!
I'm a left, below-knee amputee of about 10 years...and I did choose to lose the leg. For me, it was a good decision: I was in a lot of pain, with a seriously fractured foot that kept resisting repairs and breaking down over and over again. It had seriously impacted my mobility (although I, too, could "walk" more often than not). I just "walked" slowly and painfully and often with mobility aids like crutches and walkers and canes. It was a lousy lifestyle.
When I woke up after my amputation surgery, I was in so much less pain that I knew it was a good decision. I tried to keep in mind that part of my new, painless, state was due to meds...but even after the meds wore off, I hurt much less than I had before the surgery. Even before getting my first prosthesis, I was able to be out and around and more active than before the surgery...and once I had a prosthetic leg, it was a drastic improvement. Yes, it took several months for me to get settled in a leg, get good at walking in it, and build my stamina so that I really felt active and normal again...but it was so much better than being in pain and slowly spiraling downward that I was happy to do the work to get back to "normalcy." Today, I seldom think about my one-leggedness: I just get up in the morning, put on my leg, and go. It's an active and normal life for a woman of my age and background...if I'm wearing clothing where the leg doesn't show, no one would guess that I'm one limb short.
So I'd suggest that you take a realistic look at your current state, decide whether you're "improving," "declining," or "remaining stable," ask any questions you can think of, either here, from your doctors, and/or from anyone else you can think of (there is no such thing as a "silly question" when you're contemplating this big a decision). Then think it over and decide what's right for you right now. Just know that, in many cases, amputation can be a true solution to a problem, rather than just a loss of a limb.
Good luck in making your choice!
|
|