Hi everybody from very recent double amputee.

[mike5plus5]

 I'm Mike, 54 yr old male, I was in an accident in early November that broke my back, tore my left arm off above the elbow and broke both feet badly. My back is repaired (stainless steel inside and a brace I wear and is doing okay so far). After 1 1/2 months at the trauma center they sent me to a skilled nursing facility / basic rehab center (= an elderly nursing home) where I am the only younger resident needing occupational / physical rehab and the only amputee. They have limited rehab equipment, staff and information so my main source of information so far is pretty much limited to online searching .
 The trauma center outpatient clinic is way overloaded with patients and understaffed so I got very little time to ask questions at my appointment on Jan 15, especially when they discovered a right foot infection at the start of the appointment and admitted me for below knee amputation at that time. I was discharged back to this nursing home on Jan 25.
 My 2 week (suppose to be) post-op return appointment at the trauma center orthopedic clinic was cancelled again today due to icy weather and it had already been rescheduled once before due to an administrative mistake at this nursing home. That's 48 days post-op (38 post-discharge) today. The clinic called this morning to notify the staff here of the cancellation and rescheduled for 2 weeks from now and I'm certainly not happy about that! So my leg nub is now starting to grow over these stitches, skin is red around some of the stitches, and they hurt much worse than the stitches on my left arm nub did before they were removed 'on time'.
 So I've got a bunch of questions that I need to ask in the appropriate forum section. For now I just wanted to say "Hi" and give some information about myself.

Mike

[cherylm]

Hi, Mike, and welcome! It sounds like you've been through quite a lot, and you certainly have every right to be unhappy with your post-op treatment on your leg...are you able to call the trauma center clinic directly and inform them of the state of your stump and your dissatisfaction with this way-too-long wait? (I just get the feeling that rescheduling you was entrusted to some clerk who didn't even think about the state of your stitches.....)

When they do get you into the clinic, don't let them brush aside your questions. It's not unusual for clinics to be understaffed and overworked, but that's their problem, not yours. You might have to be "diplomatic" about it, but you are entitled to have all your questions answered. Maybe put it in terms of "I need to ask some questions and it might take some time...mind if I hang around here until someone has the time to talk to me?" They might be willing to do that...but it's more likely that they'll want to clear you out and have someone sit down right then and let you talk. Once you start talking, don't stop until you get your questions answered. In the modern medical world, you need to be your own advocate.

Now...as someone who's spent a fair amount of time in combination nursing home/rehab facility settings, I'd suggest that you do all you can to make some friends on the therapy staff. Let them know you're willing to work and work hard with whatever equipment and exercises they have for you. I've found that the vast majority of physical and occupational therapists are thrilled to have a patient who truly wants to "rehab." They're quite likely to let you have access to their gym, equipment, and time far more than would normally be allocated to you. And don't be afraid to suggest things you'd like to work on...in terms of "skills" instead of "equipment"...it might surprise you how inventive they can be with their limited equipment.

And do check around the various threads here and ask any questions that come to mind...we're a pretty friendly group with a lot of experience with varying types/degrees of limb loss, and we love to give advice!

[Deleted]

This is simply not an acceptable way for you to be treated.

I think you should sit down at your computer and write to everyone in sight.
 Start with your congressman.  Congressmen are amazingly responsive to this kind of problem.  Copy in your local newspaper.

Write to state representatives, federal and state agencies.  Write to the state ageny that licenses the doctor who failed to treat you promptly. 

They may not like you after you become vocal. but they will give you the medical treatment you are entitled to.

If you have some spare money, get a lawyer. A good lawyer will cut through this  BS like a knife through butter.

You have a right to be treated better than this!

[SteveInMd]

Your stitches are way overdue for removal. You're under a doctor's care in your facility, and that doctor has the authority and responsibility to have the stitches removed if they can't be removed at the outpatient clinic. Some polite, informed insistence with your nurse should be all it takes for that piece of your situation to be put into place.

[stonecutter]

Agree with everything said above. The stitches (in my unprofessional opinion) are a risk - once they do their job they become a foreign body which your body will do it's best to get rid of. This can be simply added scar tissue or it can be an abscess...

Keep on them about that. Otherwise - if you go quiet they may take that as acceptance. Keep on the phone and keep the pressure on so they keep you on the path to getting well.

[mike5plus5]

Thanks for all the reply's. My stitches are not any worse and most of the red is even gone away after 2 days being bandaged with antibiotic ointment. I called the ortho clinic and did manage to get my appointment moved to a few days sooner. It's now set for the day after tomorrow 2-26-15. I have a list of questions for the doctor so I won't forget anything and I will have pen and paper to take notes. I also need to inform him at the start that I'm under the care of the nursing home/rehab center, and that any instructions for my care / rehab activity need to be documented on a report for the nursing facility staff.
  So far the whole therapy staff at my nursing home (contracted from an outside therapy service) are very happy with my motivation and effort to do what it takes to succeed with rehab. And I'm reasonably happy with my therapist although I'm finding out more every day that they have basically no experience with amputees. I work hard in the equipment room but we are limited to what we can do. My right arm and both upper legs are stronger than they have ever been. But I have no doctors release yet to remove my back brace or to work with any other body parts.
  I have no lawyer $ but I am sick and tired of administrative inefficiency and repeatedly asking for medical care with no response at this place. I was examined by the head nurse over a week ago and was told that she would remove these stitches as soon as she could get the okay from my doctor. But that did not happen just like several other issues. At this point my sister is looking into having me transferred to a better facility, hopefully in Florida where she lives so that I can be close to my family for support until I get back to being fully self sufficient. Getting proper care here just is not going to happen.
 Thanks again everybody and I'll post whatever I find out Thursday.

[mike5plus5]

  I had the stitches removed at the orthopedic clinic Thursday, 2-26-15, and some were tough for the nurse to get out. Then yesterday the nurse here at the nursing home, while checking/changing the steri-strips, found 5 more stitches that had been left in. She was able to dig 4 out but 1 of them was too deep. So now I'm being sent back to the ortho clinic in the morning to get the last one out. I'll insist on a local anistetic this time! I can't believe the crappy care I'm getting at this place. I haven't heard anything definite about moving/transferring to Florida yet - but hopefully I'll know something tomorrow.
 I wasn't real happy with some of the answers I got from the doctor either. He said my right leg stump is healing good but wants to wait 6 weeks before giving the okay for fitting a prosthetic. He said I don't need a stump shrinker or anything else during that interim time, which is a question I had?
 This doctor was on the surgical team that amputated my right foot on 1-15-15 after it got infected, and he seems mainly interested with it and was little help answering my questions about my left arm stump, left foot (which was also broken in the accident) and back, which were all repaired on my original accident date 11-3-14.  My back is doing okay other than it hurts if I do too much. I have a lot of numbness in a large part of my left foot which he said was nerve damage rather than circulation. My leg has some throbbing and phantom pain but it is only annoying rather than 'bad'. My left arm has 'bad' constant burning phantom pain (in my non-existant hand) as well as periodic electric shock feelings. It also hurts bad to the touch in the tricep area where it 'sags' close to the end of the stump and my shoulder hurts too bad to move it very far from relaxed position and I cannot rotate it at all. The doctor here at the nursing home said she would schedule me to have my shoulder / stump examined by another doctor. I'll likely have to stay after her like a squeeky wheel until that gets done.
 I am taking one 5mg oxycodone every 6 hours that only helps some with the pain but I don't want to increase that amount due to me having decompensated liver cirrhosis and all pain medications that I'm aware of are hard on the liver or either have negative interactions with other meds I take for an unrelated illness.
 I'm sure hoping a move / transfer to Florida will happen soon.