Bill Miles Jnr
Hello Amplisters,
My name is Bill Miles Jr., I'm a right AK. I live in rural south Alabama close to the Florida state line and not far from some the prettiest beaches in the USA.
In four more days, it will be two years since my accident. I was standing on a tarmac or ramp at Pensacola Naval Air Station waiting for my Father to taxi a Beech Queen Air to the runway which he was to ferry to a local airport. The nose wheel failed and the tire struck my right leg. I tolerated the surgery pretty well and was released from the hospital after one week. My Doctor was also stingy with the pain meds but I suspect this has more to do with the fact that the prescriptions go to the DEA to insure that the drugs aren't being abused (Don't you just love the bureaucrats?). I have been lucky in that I haven't really had any phantom pains or sensations to speak of but I do experience a cramp like sensation on the right outside bottom edge of my stump.
My luck with the prosthetics hasn't been so good. My Doctor referred me to a prosthetist in Pensacola on the belief that the sooner that I was up and about the better it would be. The problem was that I had little or no money and no insurance. The prosthetist was willing to build one and wait for payment. He built a socket held on by straps around my waist, a stainless knee that locks when I put weigt on it, and a single axis safety foot. He told me that this was the best I could get for the cheapest amount money (about $5,000). He told that the definitive limb should be suction style socket and upgrade the rest as I could afford it. Six months later, I got the Alabama State Rehabilative Services to pay for a suction socket from a different prosthetist in Alabama. This new socket fit for about two weeks. The prosthetist made adjustment by a glob of putty on the back side of the socket pushing my stump forward so that the suction would hold the socket on. I am not very happy with my prosthetic leg and I have considered building my own. Any feedback or thoughts or experiences on building your own would be appreciated.
Yours Truly,
Bill Miles Jr.
Gary Hoover
Hi everyone!
I'd like to come out of lurk mode and introduce myself. My name is Gary and I subscribed to this list quite a while back. I am not an amputee, but one of my coworkers has a young daughter who is. She contracted menengitis last year and lost parts of her fingers and feet. She has been undergoing surgery over the past year to try and graft muscle and tissue on to her feet to save the parts she has left. This past weekend she had to make a very painful decision on whether she wanted to amputate her leg or keep going back for more grafts. She chose to amputate part of her foot in hopes that a new graft might take. Her options were to lose her leg at the hip or keep trying the series of grafts.
The reason that I'm writing is that every day I print everyone's posts and give them to her mother (my coworker) who takes them to the hospital every night and gives them to nikki to read. She enjoys all the support that people give each other and it helps her understand that she is not alone in the world. Her mother also passes the posts around the waiting room where other parents with new amputee children are waiting. The list is kind of like her support group and it has helped her cope with the problems her child is going thru.
Nikki has even gone as far as to contact some of the new kids that have posted to the list in the last few months. During one of her stays in the hospital, she sent a note to a girl who was a new amputee and they were both in the hospital and they called and talked for over two hours from each others hospital rooms describing to each other what THEIR surgery was like.
Thanks again for all the support, keep the posts coming
Gary Hoover
Jennifer Robbenalt
Hi,
I'm new to the list and would like to introduce myself. I am a 29 yr old double bk amputee. The amputations were done about 5 yrs ago. It was the end result of a spinal injury I had when I was 8, car accident. I was partially paralyzed, mainly lower body and wore braces. I was forever having problems with pressure sores, blisters, infections etc. Finally, between the infections and just the general deterioration of my ankle joints my surgeon reccommended amputations. I've been fairly happy with the results, I walk better, and have much less pain. Of course, I still have my share of skin problems etc...
I joined this list to find out more about what other amputees have gone through, I'm also interested in learning more about prosthetics, I'm not entirely happy with what I have.
Take care, Jennifer
John Hodal
Well, someone suggested we all introduce ourselves, so here goes....
I'm a very recent (4/11/96) left BK as the result of 20 operations over 18 years starting in 1978 (I'm 39 now). I was in the USMC at the time and stationed in Yuma, AZ at one of the bombing ranges out in the desert. We had spotting towers (40 feet tall) to watch the hits and it was a nice spring day and we were between flights. I went out and sat on the railing of the tower with my back facing out (which we all did all the time). I was going to have a smoke which I usually kept in my top shirt pocket, but they were in my pants pocket. Without thinking, I did like you do in the car to get something out of your pocket - I leaned back. About the time my feet were over my head and my head was pointing at the ground I knew I was in trouble (and they say Marines aren't smart). Somehow, someway, I kept rotating (I used to do a lot of diving in high school) maybe by instinct, or maybe someone wanted me to. I don't remember the fall, but I sure as hell remember the sudden stop after falling 40 feet. I landed standing straight up with all my weight and force being put on my left ankle. I then fell down onto my ass and cracked two vertebrae in my back, and then slammed forward and gave myself a really nice concussion. The closet person was a mile away. I was awake, and concious (after catching my breath). I knew I had broken my ankle (and it didn't hurt a bit), but didn't know about my back yet. I had to get some help so I rolled myself over and was going to crawl to the truck to get to the radio. That's when I found out I had some back problems (ouch). To make a long story short, someone FINALLY came down to see what the problem was when a flight checked in and I didn't answer the radio. I was medivac'd from the desert by helicopter and taken to the base dispensary and then to the local hospital. Spent a week in intensive care, and then another 2 months flat on my back in San Diego at the Naval Hospital at Balboa.
They pieced me back together after 6 operations on the ankle and recovery took at least a year. At least I could walk. The back we just let heal and it hasn't been any problem. The ankle is another story. In about 86 I broke a bone in my foot and had to go to the hospital. I always knew my ankle constantly hurt, but like a lot of people, you just put up with it. It hurt, it swelled, but that's life. After the local orthopod looked at the xrays, he was amazed that I was still walking with the ankle. Degenerative arthritis was really bad. After 9 operations to fuse the ankle it finally took. Eliminated some of the pain, but it still hurt. More doctors, more surgeries and then I had another sub talor fusion done in december 95 when they rebroke the ankle to reposition it, etc. That's when things got nasty. I developed a really bad infection in the ankle and it never quite went away. Was hospitalized for it, etc. Was on home IV's for a month and it quieted down. Then around the end of march it reared it's ugly head again, this time getting into the bone and destroying a lot of the tissue. Things didn't look good. After some lengthy thought, we agreed it would be "best" to take it off.
One 4/11/96 they did the surgery. I'm still learning about all this stuff and have gotten some really good information from some members here. If I could get the pain under control, I'd be so damn happy. I haven't been "pain free" since 1978. Phantom pain is minimal, but the damn stump is really bothering me. I've had so many pain meds, my tolerance is built up and my doctor is very hesitant to prescribe anything (as he terms it) "addictive". Like some of you said "Yea, thanks a bunch for looking out for me."
YOU go through this and we'll see what your opinion is... I haven't been fitted for a socket yet since I've got another small infection - at least this one is clearing up. Like I told my doctor, I could give a rats ass if I ever get a leg. I'm so used to being on crutches, it's second nature. My one legged balance is great, I can bend over to pick something off the floor and not even give it a second thought. Like I said, keep the leg, I just don't want the pain anymore. 18 years is enough. I surrender.
Well, that's my story in a nut shell. I really enjoy other peoples intros. We all have our own little stories and each one is unique. Thanks to those who have shared....
John Hodal
jhodal@ix.netcom.com