I Am An Amputee
my story is a bit out of the norm. for 11 years i have been suffering from excruciatingly painful ulcers on my left leg. it started when on nov. 5th 2000, i woke up with a dvt. there was no injury so blood tests were done and it was discovered that i had a factor V leiden mutation. i was prone to clot. things went down hill and ulcers formed quickly. i had my first surgery in january 2001. as the years passed i had more surgeries but they did not help. despite doctors telling me i needed to go on disability i continued working. i needed to take care of my wife, who was already on ssd. i worked for 8 years in unbelievable pain. i had started asking for an amputation because every surgery gave me a small amount of relief at first, but, then the ulcers got worse and so did the pain. finally, one of my doctors said that i was done. he would not let me back to work. he said if i continued, i would lose my leg??? ironic, since thats what i had been asking several (9) doctors for. on march 9th 2009. i went on disibility for good. newyork state social security disability is notorious for turning down deserving people and forcing them to appeal and hire a lawyer. i was surprised to get a quick answer without ever setting foot inside an office. i was approved and after collecting the 6 months of required nys disability, i received my first check in oct. of 2009. all this is important to my story. as i said earlier, my wife was already on disability. we went from doing ok with great credit to bankruptcy. we had to walk away from our house in sept. 2011 and moved into her deceased parents house which was payed off. my wifes health insurance changed and medication that she had been taking for years started costing $500 per month. medication that she needed for depression and anxiety. who can afford that? on jan.11th 2012, my sweet wife commited suicide. i could not stay in the house that she died in any longer. i moved in with my 77 year old father while waiting for my name to come up on a disabled apartment list. over the last 11 years i have gone thru 20 surgeries on my leg. on june 1st 2012 the doctors finally amputated. it was number 21. i convinced one doctor to finally do it. my life had become laying on a bed and crying in pain. i couldn't even walk my dog anymore. while i wait to heal enough for my prosthetic leg, my step son takes care of my dog. she is the one thing that helped me thru the initial shock and grief of my wifes death. i'm back to laying on a bed again but this time it's to heal. my pain is gone and believe it or not, i don't have any phantom pain or sensations whatsoever. i had a temporary setback when i fell in the hospital during pt. i busted open a few stitches and it will take a little longer to heal. i have a question for anyone who may have an answer. how long from amputation to prosthetic? it is a btk amputation. i lost my job, my wife, my home and my leg. one thing i have always said when things get me down is "you gotta be alive to complain". hang in there.
DMD
DMD
By:
donaldmyduck
Age:
46-50
