On March 1, 2004 I had my left leg amputated below the knee. I had an operation in Oct. 15 2003 to replace a titanium rod that was holding my tibie together. During this procedure, I obtained an infection called Pseudomonas. The infection traveled thru the tibia and exploded in the knee area. The pain was overwhelming. During my 2 week follow-up with the surgeon, Dr. B, I notified him that I was having a fever of 104/105 on a consistant basis, he replied "I find that hard to believe". Two days later I called Cody to take me to the local emergency room. Cody carried me into his truck and into the hospital. Dr. Zoeller aspirated some fluid and exclaimed that it was full of infection. They transported me to Union Memorial Hospital, in Baltimore MD, where Dr. B opened the leg and cleaned out the infection. After spending 2 weeks in the hospital, I was sent home where I had to inject antibiotics into a pic line 3 times each day for the next 3 months. A pic line is an IV consisting of a tube that traveled from my arm directly into my heart. On Feb 10, 2004, Dr B. performed a biopsy to see if the infection was still present. A few days later I was informed that the infection was still present in the leg and that I had two options availablle. I could either go through the 3 month anitbiotic series once again and see if that gets rid of the infection, or amputation. It was a difficult decision but I needed to go on with my life, so I chose amputation. At that time, I was told that I would regain my knee motion and that I was a perfect candidate for Below Knee Amputation. As you will see on my Main Page, that would not be the case and I will have to undergo yet another amputation, Above the Knee. Enjoy the pics.
-pegleg |
