We all can be Flamingo Strong !!!

Empowering amputees one STEP  at a time.  

“We never know how strong we are until being strong is the only choice we have.”.   
Let’s all be flamingos and be strong enough to stand on one leg. 

One more surgery coming up...ugh. This will be surgery #.....8 or 9. (Who can keep track at this point.) .  

On January 16, 2014, I slipped on the ice and broke my ankle. I really did a number on it. There was a 3 inch separation between my foot and my ankle. I had to be rushed to the hospital for an emergency surgery, at my 1 week follow up, they realized that there was some shifting and they had to go back in and do another surgery. I kept going in once a week insisting that something was still wrong, I was having extreme pain. They kept doing x-rays and telling me that everything was fine. I think that they thought I was just wanting pain meds. (Nothing could be further from the truth) After them telling me that there was nothing more that they could do, I started doing research. I found an amazing ankle reconstructive surgeon that was in Idaho, 1000 miles away from me. I sent him a package with over 100 pages of chart notes and a disc with all of the images that I had ever had taken. I basically plead my case and begged him to take me on as a patient. We traveled to Idaho and within minutes of him looking at my previous x-rays, he knew exactly what was wrong. My tibia and fibula had begun to separate and there was a cyst growing between them. He has done everything he could over the last 2 years, I have had 8 surgeries. The worst being an external fixation devise which is basically a large cage over my whole lower leg with rods going all the way through my leg and bones and out the other side connecting to the cage. I had that for 7 months. After everything and all the pain, I just learned last week that I have to have my lower leg amputated. We have tried absolutely everything and nothing has been successfull. My husband and I have been trying to make ends meet with me not being able to work in almost 2 1/2 years, him having to take a ton of time off work every month and the travel to and from Idaho for all of my appointments. We are just coming up on our 3 year wedding anniversary and I have been on bed rest for most of it. We thank God everyday for each other and the strength that we have somehow found, but we are really scared about our finances and how we are going to get through this. Please help in any way possible. We would not be asking if it wasn't completely necessary. Thank you in advance and thank you for taking time to read this.  

I have been trying to find strength in me that I never knew I had. I am embracing the flamingo. They are strong enough to stand on one leg and I am learning that I am song enough too.  FLAMING STRONG!!!!