Bone breaks around the knee :

Smashed leg - amputation? - - Posted by Bo (Bo), 24 December 2002

Hi,
Has anybody else gotten to the stage where the constant pain is just too much and the thought of amputation is better than going on. During the summer months my specialist hinted that we could have an amputation before xmas...two mind changes later and we are now looking at rebreaking. I got my head round the amp' but can't to the rebreak. It was breaking/shattering that got me into this s---t in the first place. The pain at the old fracture sites (winter blues) is sometimes more than unbearable...scale 1 to 10 8-9 (10 was restraitening the leg after the RTA with just gas and air...ouch). He reacons that by rebreaking he can realign the leg thus reducing the stress to the more damaged side of the knee. (My leg is now twisted in two places).

The mind just can't come to terms with this and I have contemplated ways of breaking the leg...I was told that if I bend the femoral nail then I will lose the leg. My lifestyle was kyaking , free-rock climbing , sky-diving and scuba diving ...by losing the leg I can gain all back to a good degree .

The specialist now says that if he took the leg off it would be negligence on his part. Now fed up with the arthroscopies, polishing and grinding etc... Every time I try to move I click even though I have had three pins removed.

I feel that if it where possible to get the leg removed privatly then this would be my best option.

Thanks for the rant

Bodhi
Posted by tazmanian_devil (tazmanian_devil), 24 December 2002

I have taken care of people who have had their leg amputated and I don't think it is the answer, you still have lots of pain and mobility problems and only the best and most expensive artificial legs work really well from what I have seen. What about a 2nd or 3rd opinion? Theresa
Posted by Bo (Bo), 24 December 2002

Thanks for the reply Theresa...

The specialist is apparently one of the best in the country...at least according to my research...so what other opinion am I going to get and then do I want someone else pioneering with my leg/knee Like alot of other people this just seems to have been going on for too long. Two and a half years to be precise...and every time we get over one hurdle another appears.

I have spoken to amputees and although there is physical pain and ghost pain it gives you choices. With the twist in my leg, (not to mention the pain), if it was removed it would give me options. For the sport I would not need a prostethic, (not sure on spelling). I have been pushed to the side lines and the most I get to do these days is helm a power boat...and even then the pounding my legs take on a rough day is at the top of the pain scale, remove it and there is no more pressure.

regards

Bodhi
Posted by Ross (Ross), 25 December 2002

Bo, about thirty-five years ago after a bunch of breaks to match yours on my right leg I was told that if I bent the K nail again (third time lucky!) they'd have to cut the beggar off.  Yeah, well kids will be kids and motorcycles will break limbs!  I carried the bits of that bent pin around for the next ten years to remind me of the dangers inherent in youthful exuberance.  They tell me it was the first time they had used bolt cutters in a surgical operation.

Mate, while you are attached to as many bits of yourself as you can be, your chances of some sort of normalcy of life remain reasonable.  Rather a lot of the dire threats ennunciated by OSs are just that, sometimes they are based in fact, most often it is one bloke's opinion.

..... and in answer to the question about pain, yes mate, I have laid on a guerney a couple of times in the course of a fairly colourful parade through life.  On only one occasion that I can remember did I ever think "that's it fella, you'd be better off dead!"  which was followed in a millisecond by another little voice saying "WHO was that negative b@stard?"  While you got a good collection of the bits you came in with there's something to work with.  When stuff goes blue and smelly is time to think about getting shot of it!
Posted by Linds (Linds), 26 December 2002

Hey Bo, I am sorry to hear that you are living through so much pain. It's not right, and how people manage to do it day to day..I can only marvel at.  
I have nothing to offer you as far as ideas...I am out of them myself. Though I do wish that you get the help you need and that soon you can return to your physically active lifestyle. Lord knows too many of us have lost the lifestyle we loved.
Take care
Wish I had more to offer in the way of suggestions..but I don't
Take care, keep searching...
Linds
Posted by Bo (Bo), 29 December 2002

Thank you Ross and Linds for your kind words. Have trawled the site a bit since my last posting and am quite interested in the Generation 2 unloader brace. I already wear one of the more usual velcroed neoprene braces with the metal hinges. With all the usual migration problems and because my knee faces in whilst the leg faces out this brace can on some days be more painful than without...however it does help with stability...you know the syndrom, although I want to walk that way the leg decideds to go the other. However if the information on the g2 unloader is correct it can stabilise and take the weight from the bad side of the knee whilst still using the good. Also it doesn't hinder muscle growth etc. Plus the fact that it can be custom built means the twist in my leg can be accomodated. It doesn't mean I can get into a kyake or some of the other high impact sports but will help with climbing etc. This last year I have gotten into powerboating...but found the constant pounding through my knee to be unbearable. However this unloader may be the ticket. Am due to see the specialist earlyish in the new year and will talk this over with him. Haven't been able to find a dealer in the UK but there seems to be one in Brussels...which isn't too expensive.
It's strange how one day there is only darkness...then the next there is sudenly a shard of light in the distance. Whilst I am sure it will never be the miracle I wish a simple reduction in pain would be most welcome.

Again thanks for the kind words

Regards

Bo


Posted by Ross (Ross), 29 December 2002

Bo, don't back down, never give a bl##dy inch!  Enjoy your life to the full and do everything you feel like doing!

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