In the early hours of the next morning, my family was contacted as
I had started to deteriorate and I had needed resuscitation after going
into cardiac arrest. It looked unlikely that I would survive the night.
Fortunately, when they arrived I had started to improve slightly. Over
the next 10 days I had many more trips to theatre for more debridement
of the infected tissue on my leg, but all this time on kidney dialysis
and on a ventilator. The smaller patches cleared up from the high dosage
of antibiotics.
I was brought round, confused and unable to comprehend what I was told.
My leg was so badly affected and in such a bad way that the doctors needed
me to make the decision about what to do about it’s future. It was basically
just bone between my knee and ankle.
I was told I could have reconstructive surgery which would involve
numerous operations, with no guarantees at the end of it, and I would
have to walk with a stick, or, amputation above the knee and be fitted
with a prosthetic leg. Whilst I was considering my options, 4 days later,
after more debridement, I took a turn for the worse again and the critical
care team were rushed to my bed as I could not breathe and my heart rate
doubled. It was very frightening. I spent the next 4 days in HDU on high
doses of oxygen and antibiotics, which were a continuation from the diagnosis.
A decision needed to be made. I made it, and on Easter Sunday I signed
the consent form to have my right leg amputated above the knee. The next
morning I was wheeled to theatre for the final time to have the amputation
carried out.
When I came round, a couple of hours later, although a bit groggy,
I felt so much better than I had for ages. Tony, my husband, remarked
on how much better I looked already. I knew then that I had made the
right decision. I was able to go onto a side room on a main ward that
evening and I remained in hospital for a further 3 weeks until my discharge.
From the amputation onwards I made a quick recovery and throughout this
summer I have had a leg made for me and have been learning to live with
a prosthetic leg. It has not always been easy but challenging. I am back
at work - 2 part-time jobs, and at my gym once a week. In the future
I am hoping to have a running leg made and go back to running. I will
probably require one more operation to tidy up the scars on my leg where
it was amputated and skin grafts placed but that will be only minor surgery.
The important thing is,
I survived!
