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.

 

I survived

24.02.15

Hi all

well I survived the Prosthatist he wasn't even a bit angry apparently people 'tweak' their limbs all the time. so few!.

He did agree that about an inch needed to come off the rim and he lengthened the leg. There was still a bit of pain by my bum but I was able to walk with out any groin pain now.

But walking in the bars my leg kept swinging out and round when I walked and my leg kept locking. This is because I had relied on the belt to pull my hip in all this time and now I had to use my inner thigh muscle. So I had to learn to clench my muscle as I walked pulling the leg in straight under me.
This stopped the swinging out motion and the locking.

When I got home I got the Dremel out and cut off some more of the bum shelf part and bought some more Velcro and soft fluffy padding. I glued the padding to the bum rim so it was now comfortable to sit on. Then I put some Velcro on the inside of the socket (because they took it out when I went to see the Prosthatist!) and super glued the soft fluffy bit of the Velcro to my grey liner. This stopped the leg slowly turning in the socket as I walked.

I've now had a few days to practice walking and I can do it with one stick again but I have now found the leg to be too long. which is an easy adjustment I will see them about next week.

My leg/stump/residual limb, does hurt when I first put it on but its not pain caused by the socket but my nerves being squashed about and learning to take weight again. plus the end I had sawn off is only a couple of months old. In time this should ease.

So I have my leg back, lets see how long it lasts this time :) ho and I'm not planning on any more operations that's it!........

Pin lock review/ trouble

10.02.15

Hi all

well after getting my sandpaper and saw out of the garage and hacking of bits of my leg that stuck in me. (I wouldn't recommend this) It was still painful.
The whole problem with the pin lock system is that its a good idea. you push your grey liner with a pin on the end into a hole in the bottom of your socket and it sinks in until it wont go in anymore, and you cant pull it back out with out pressing a metal button on the inside of your knee. (which sticks out like a mini metal bar and you cant wear anything tight on your leg or it will press the button).

The problems come when the socket is too long, the pin pulls you in and at the same time the bum shelf at the back and your crotch slowly push into your skin until it becomes too painful to walk.
and you cant pull yourself out without pressing the button.

This is the problem I'm having at the moment, I hate the thing. I know when I finally get back into see my prosthatist and tell him look the socket is too long. He's not going to believe me because hes the qualified prosthatist and knows how these this should feel!!!!

So I found out that my old gel liner fits comfortably in the socket, so I got a load of Velcro and glued them to the inside of the leg and stuck my leg in, and hey presto my leg doesn't come off, and its comfortable. But they wont let me keep it like this :(

I will leave it on like this so I can get some practise walking again, and will let you know what happens next.

A pain in the leg.

8.2.15

Hi all

I got my leg back yesterday, its a pin lock this time meaning the grey liner has a metal pin sticking out of the end and you push it into a hole in the bottom of the socket and it locks.
But as with new sockets this one is horrible. it has a hard plastic outer coating and a softish white plastic lining. and its pushing on my pubic bone at the front and right around the inside of my crotch. when I walk its trying to both saw my in half and squeeze me so you can imagine its really painful to try and take any steps and I have a long red sore developing along my crotch line.

Also the part your suppose to sit on at the back was poking upwards into my bum and making me tilt forward rather than sitting on it.
I did mention this all the prosthatist but during the 4hrs I was there, for tweaks it wasn't getting any better. 'He then said go home and try walk on it for a bit'. 'I know its just because you haven't had a leg for a while, and you need to get the strength back in your hips to walk correctly, and your leg is naturally tilting upwards.'

First off, no my leg wasn't tilting upwards, that happens if you don't do your stretches and the muscle at the front of your thigh becomes tight and pulls your leg up. I know to keep doing my stretches and once I have the weight of the limb it naturally pulls your leg straight.
So that wasn't the problem, and I know I'm a bit wobbly after not walking for 2 months but I quickly get back into it. its the damn socket that's not fitted right!

So he booked me in to see him in 2 weeks telling me to try walking.
As it was a Friday I wore the leg home and I was in my chair, and I really did try to walk at home with the aid of two sticks but it was just too painful. I tried stuffing sponge down my crotch and on my bum seat. That sort of stopped the pain but I couldn't put my full weight on it. so I did something your not advised to do. I went into my garage and got out my dremel and started hacking away at the bits that were bothering me.

First I cut back the bum shelf, just the hard plastic outer lair so the softer rubber could fold over better. That solved that problem. Then I started cutting and filing bits of my crotch.
It stopped it sticking into my pubic bone, but the whole thing around that area was just too tight.  So I stuffed loads of foam down my crotch, and a sponge plaster over my pubic bone area.

I can now take a step without it hurting but its still not right, and I was just so frustrated and I knew when I went back the prosthatist wouldn't believe me when I say its too small at the top its digging in. He won't do another cast, and then he will see the hacking I've done to it and god knows what he'll say.  So I had a really good cry. I'm still upset and frustrated as I write this, I just want it to be sorted, I want my leg back, and I want it to be comfortable is that too much to ask!

I'm going to call them on Monday see if I can get an earlier appointment and get this sorted.

The last operation...i really mean it!

16.01.15

Hi all


Happy new year, well I had my mum and dad and my sister and her fella around for Christmas dinner. I managed to cook it and get them all merry. I'm still in my pram as the leg was just the wrong size and I could not walk without pain. So I went back to Seacroft and got measured up for a new socket.

All the stitches have healed now and there's no pain. I'm getting fitted for a pin lock fitting so I will keep you up dated on how that went.

Also I've had another operation. my left Carpel tunnel. I know I said in previous posts it hurt to much that I would not have the other done. but once I was back in the chair my left wrist got bad to the point where I could not hold up my phone for too long before my whole had went numb.

So I bit the bullet and got booked in, and yes those three injections into the bottom of your hand really, really hurt and this is coming from me, so you can believe me. it wasn't the fact of the needle going in but when they pushed down on the plunger to pump the anaesthetic in boy that makes you grit your teeth. He had to stop twice with the bloody needle in my palm asking me to relax!!

But after that within 10 minutes it was all over, and I was bandaged up and told to keep it elevated in a sling for 5 days, then try exercises. But this time my had was the usual completely numb until the next day, and then it felt fine. Just the pain of a cut on my palm. Where as last time my had was numb then for the next 4-5 days I could not touch my thumb and finger together without pain, it took a while for my had to support weight as well. where as this operation I can move my fingers fine, make a fist and grip. There's still the pain of the cut and its tender but at this rate I should be fine really quickly. I can only think last time he cut some nerve or tendon in my right hand, or he hasn't cut deep enough on my left. God I hope it's not that.

But we shall see, my right by the way is completely healed and no longer has problems.

So I'm down to one arm and one leg again, but that's my last operation. I know I have said this before and something crops up, but I mean it now. I just want a break, from recovering or waiting for fittings or problems. I just want my leg and to go on holiday somewhere. let's hope it's this year this will happen.