The electric leg

01.10.15

Hi all

I have had my electric leg now for a month and as i previously said i didn't like it. It felt stiff and i felt like i was waiting for it to swing through when i walked.
But i liked the suspension on it. It makes it more comfortable to walk, kind of spongy like you are walking on foam. But i found i still had the old problem of my socket slowly turning when i walked. But as you know i have found a solution to this and quickly stuck on my Velcro.

I was disappointed as i thought with this leg i would be able to go up stairs foot over foot, like a normal person. But what they don't tell you in the adverts is you have to scrape your leg back like a charging bull. This tells the leg you want to take a step, either over something or up something. You then quickly bring it in front of you so your foot is on the step. The problem i have if because I'm short (5ft) i then cant step up as the knee gives way because it thinks i am sitting. I am ok on short steps, just not in house steps. But i will not be using this technique outdoors either because i dont want to kick anyone in the face coming up the stairs behind me. Stupid design flaw.

The only benefits of this leg so far are that i can stand on a slope with out my knee slowly bending, so i can distribute my weight evenly now. Also i can go down slopes but this needs more practise and nerves if steel.
Apparently you can also run with this leg if you attach a blade.

The only other downside as it is electric it has to be charged like a mobile. It has a 5 day life but to check the battery you have to turn it upside down. Another stupid design flaw. Why not just show 5 lights on the side, rather than me having to do a handstand if im camping out!

But this is teaching me to walk upright and correct and as such the scar tissue at the bottom of me stumpy has come loose grabbed a few nerves and now when i walk its kind of a crunch, pain, crunch, pain. So went back to plastic surgeon and im back on the slab in November so will be back in my pea over Christmas, again!
Then (everything crossed) this should be my last operation!

I never thought this would happen

September


Hi all

I had to take my dog Lilly to the vets for a check up on a lump. She was fine and just had a biopsy. I was able to walk from the bus station with my hydrolic leg and a stick 200 yards to the vets. My mum came with me to help collect lilly because she pulls like mad. When i walk her i have to do it on my mobility scooter with her lead strapped to the handles and even then she pulls.
Well i walked beside my mum up the road, and noticed Lilly kept stopping and looking back at me then walking on and looking back, so i asked mum to let me hold the lead.
It took a lot of effort not to cry as i plodded on and she slowly walked by my side waiting for me to catch up and always looking back at me right up to the bus station.
I never thought i would be able to walk my dogs again for fear they would pull me over but this gave me hope. One day i will be able to walk them in the woods again.

Accident Photos (very graphic do not click on if easily upset!!)

15/09/15

Hi all

Whilst cleaning out an old computer I came across some pictures I thought I had deleted.

They are of my leg whilst I am on a table in hospital straight after the accident.

They managed to gather everything up and put it in a plastic bag.

These pictures are very graphic close ups of the damage to my leg for court purposes.

(Wasn't as if I could fake having my leg ripped off but hey ho.)

The reason I thought I would put these on here is to show you what I was sat left

holding that day on the road, and after you have seen the shots you will understand I knew then and there I had lost my leg. 

I'm not disgusted or upset by these photos, I feel quite distanced from them like I'm

looking at a movie prop. The only thing that puts a lump in my throat still is seeing my foot with my toenails there looking fine until you follow the leg up.

I guess its a part of self therapy to show you these images so I can say, see this is what I saw when I closed my eyes every night for at least 2 years before I went to sleep.

 

Now you can understand just a fraction of what I went through. (and still going through). I may have a prosthetic leg now and have all sorts of exciting plans for the future trying to stay positive. But I still have and I think always will have down days, where I just want to throw my leg in a corner and cry.

SO THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING HORRIBLE PICTURES BELOW!!!










































My first flight

28.7.15


Hi all, went on my first plane ride today to Edinburgh Scotland. I was worried about going through security because i had heard all sorts of horror stories of people having to take their legs off in a que in front of people.
But i was fine, just put my loose stuff, laptop, stick, etc. In a tray and sent that through, then i was frisked by a lady and had the tops of my shoes swabbed, didn't have to take them off. Then they ran a wand over me and that was it. Coming back to England only difference was instead of wand i was asked to stand in a scanner.
Don't know if it will be different going out of UK. But i will tell you that next year, when hoping to go to America.
I'm still on the hydraulic with tilting ankle and its great, really good gon uphills. I have to put some sponge pads on my bum cheek and in between my crotch, but that's just because my knicker line chaffs when i walk for long periods. I tied wearing shorts but my bum trys to eat them when i walk so i end up trying to discretely rescue them from my crack whilst walking. So its sponges or short thong.  prefer sponges.

Ive decided now everything has settled to try for the electric leg at PACE its very expensive and part of me wants it to be gold plated for the price. But in the end its suppose to be waterproof and sandproof and i can after practice even jog!.

So i have my appointment today well see how we get on.

New hydrolic Leg

08/05/2015


Hi all

got my new hydraulic leg today, very wobbly like I'm walking on sponge. makes a hissing sound when I walk but that's just air in between my grey liner and the white plastic socket. (at least its not making a farting sound).

I was shown how to go up and down a slope. up as great because of the tilting ankle I now have but down was scary as my knee kept bending and I thought I was going to fall. also with this new leg I can now crouch!.

Its still boney around the crotch area, but that can be sorted with sponge.
I was also shown how to walk down stairs. where as before you are told to put your bad foot first then step down. I had to learn to walk normally one foot over the other, and again I was frightened my knee was going to give as I stepped off. But with the help of railings I did it, just got to keep practising now.

below is a photo of me crouching (not laying an egg) a front view of my leg and a short film of me walking.

3 Years ago today.

30.04.2015

hi all well its been 3 years since my accident, its gone by so fast but also in a way slow. Fast in that it seems like it was just this year that I had had my accident and all the bumf that followed.
and slow because waiting for operations, healing, constant leg tweaking.
Below is a picture of my leg now 3 years on. you'll see that its a bit more rounded at the end since I had an inch cut off. Plus my scaring seems to be fading to a more pink skin colour.

I still have my first leg and have been walking around on it now for about 8 weeks. I went to Whitby on my own for a slow plod round and even though my leg didn't hurt my bum seat part chaffed and caused a blister on my ass (not good). But I bought some padded plasters stuck one on my butt and away I went again.

I waiting for my hydraulic leg now, they are doing me a new cast based on the socket I have now. which will have problems as you remember from previous posts how much I had to cut down.
But we will cross that bridge when we come to it, at least I know now I can tweak it myself without having to wait weeks and weeks.

On that subject my grey liner with the pin lock in, I'm currently wearing has a few holes in the front, just in the fluffy grey skin level. The rubber underneath is in tacked, this has been caused by the Velcro I glued to the inside of the plastic socket. to stop my leg slowly rotating as I walk.
well when I went to see my Prosthatist earlier this month, he saw the state of my liner and was not pleased. he said you know they are supposed to last at least 6 months and we have been given our NHS budget and they are £400 each. all I could think was well its working my leg isn't revolving when I walk. If you put a shiny liner in a shiny plastic socket it doesn't matter how tight it is its going to rotate. they need to invent a liner with Velcro on. so there!

I've also cut down and now I'm finally off my last medication which was the amatriptaline. (the nerve damage and depression tablets). I've been a bit weepy and get easily stressed but that's just my serotonin levels returning to normal.

I don't have any more operations due (fingers crossed), my bungalow is sorted and even though to bum part of my leg isn't perfect I can walk on it. so now its a case of plucking up the courage to go on holiday. I'm afraid something will happen, or I'll book it and be legless. I don't know I know I am being silly. we will just have to see.

Take care xx

So far so good

13/03/15


hi all

well I've had my new leg now for 2 weeks and I'm finally back to walking with one stick again, and with no stick around the house.
Below are some pictures of my new bolt on leg.
The metal button on the inside of the knee is what you press to take the leg off, there is a slot in the side of this button and once your pin is in the hole (pictured). You take a coin, best is a 50p and put it in the slot and turn it away from you which pulls you in to the leg and locks you in.
My liner looks a little wrecked only because the holes in the grey skin were made when I fell and they caught on the Velcro I had stuck to the inside.
I'm ok bruised my bum but you are still going to fall, you just got to get back up.
also this liner has a prickly rim at the top and can make you saw with chaffing. I've got round this by buying some thin foam and tucking it around the rim.
This leg is called Mr fluffy for obvious reasons. I didn't want the usual hard leather the Prosthatists put on so I bought some fluff, which I mentioned in my last post and glued on a couple of layers.
may have to think of an alternative in summer but at the moment its comfortable.
also as I said I can now walk in the house without a stick, I would advise getting some stiff hiking boots because these support your foot when walking. I still wear my pumps when I meet up with friends but wear my hiking boots in the garden and round the house.



Velcro ruff side super glued in place

hole which pin slots in

My liner with fluffy part of Velcro glued to it. because you have to roll this off and on you will have to touch up the super glue now and again.