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We thought it ended with my father losing his leg. No, that was just the beginning of my dads long road to recovery. My father is one of the strongest men (people) I know, but right now he's broken, and this is the scariest thing my family has ever gone through.
We thought it was Gout. It wasn't, but we were told it could be fixed with an ankle fusion. So my father decided, after 4 years of dealing with an ankle that was causing him trouble and pain, to have the surgery in July of 2018, and in the beginning it seemed to have worked.
Everything seemed to be turning around, my dad was back to work, and the routine at home was becoming normal again. In January he broke his leg, one of the screws from the plate put into his ankle during surgery was sitting in such a way that his tibia was weakened. He was heading up the stairs in our family home and said he thought the stair had given way under him, that's how loud the crack was. He was told to wait on having his leg fixed (we still don't understand why), but he went back to work again in the spring.
We try to go away as a family each summer for a week, we head up north with extended family, rent a few cottages and see who can come up for some much needed time away, August of 2019 my dad ended up in bracebridge hospital with a raging infection that started in his foot. He started IV antibiotics which he stayed on into the fall.
He was scheduled for an osteotomy at the beginning of September, where his surgeon re-broke his leg, and put a 9" rod into his tibia. We were sure this was the end of it. This was going to work. AGAIN, no. The rod began to migrate back out of his leg, so I could see it coming out the bottom of his foot. He went in for a check up the last week of September and was kept for emergency surgery.
The surgeon removed all the hardware in my dads leg, and told us that there really was nothing left to do. He told my dad on Oct 4th that he could leave my dads foot as is (knowing he'd never be able to walk again. When I saw the x-rays after all the hardware was gone, there was nothing left of my dads lower leg. it was like dust where his ankle had been), or he could amputate. My dad had until Monday to make his decision.
My dad chose to have his lower leg removed. I thought that was the hardest part. My dad spent weeks in isolation (because of a superbug that he'd been unknowingly introduced to in the hospital) waiting for a bed to open up at a rehab hospital, because he wasn't able to go home after his surgery. He had too much to learn about how to live with his new limb. My mom was left alone in our family home. I know this is the hardest thing my dad has ever had to deal with, but watching my mom in constant heartbreak was devastating. She's a strong woman herself, but it hurt me so much to watch her go through this.
Finally he made it into the rehab hospital (thank God for that), he was finally going to start some physiotherapy to get his body moving again. He worked with all of the staff there, Physio, Occupational, social work, the specialists... but mentally this took everything out of him. I had only seen my dad cry once in my entire life. I've now seen it more, it's heart-wrenching. My father has spoken about very dark things. Things that make me hold my breath and hope he starts to laugh. He's constantly worried about infection. Every small thing that pops up now is cause for anxiety. I feel useless. And I'm angry. So very angry.
November 20th my dad got him new Leg prosthesis. He took his first steps and hasn't stopped.
My dad was discharged home mid December, my mom refused to put up the Christmas tree without him and we were able to put it up as a family.
He's still in a dark place (still very anxious about infection, and not being a whole man), and I'm hoping that with time, and continued therapy, spring coming, and possibly (fingers crossed) his return to work these feelings he's having will ease. We have serious renovations to do in the family home now in order for my parents to stay. This is why i chose to share my fathers story (he's a conservative man, and it took a lot of convincing for me to get to write this). My fathers insurance doesn't cover anything for amputation, or prosthesis, and my family has never had much in the way of savings. This is my humble attempt at helping my family. All I'm honestly asking for is help sharing his story, if this finds it's way to people who can help, then we're blessed, and eternally grateful.
We thought it was Gout. It wasn't, but we were told it could be fixed with an ankle fusion. So my father decided, after 4 years of dealing with an ankle that was causing him trouble and pain, to have the surgery in July of 2018, and in the beginning it seemed to have worked.
Everything seemed to be turning around, my dad was back to work, and the routine at home was becoming normal again. In January he broke his leg, one of the screws from the plate put into his ankle during surgery was sitting in such a way that his tibia was weakened. He was heading up the stairs in our family home and said he thought the stair had given way under him, that's how loud the crack was. He was told to wait on having his leg fixed (we still don't understand why), but he went back to work again in the spring.
We try to go away as a family each summer for a week, we head up north with extended family, rent a few cottages and see who can come up for some much needed time away, August of 2019 my dad ended up in bracebridge hospital with a raging infection that started in his foot. He started IV antibiotics which he stayed on into the fall.
He was scheduled for an osteotomy at the beginning of September, where his surgeon re-broke his leg, and put a 9" rod into his tibia. We were sure this was the end of it. This was going to work. AGAIN, no. The rod began to migrate back out of his leg, so I could see it coming out the bottom of his foot. He went in for a check up the last week of September and was kept for emergency surgery.
The surgeon removed all the hardware in my dads leg, and told us that there really was nothing left to do. He told my dad on Oct 4th that he could leave my dads foot as is (knowing he'd never be able to walk again. When I saw the x-rays after all the hardware was gone, there was nothing left of my dads lower leg. it was like dust where his ankle had been), or he could amputate. My dad had until Monday to make his decision.
My dad chose to have his lower leg removed. I thought that was the hardest part. My dad spent weeks in isolation (because of a superbug that he'd been unknowingly introduced to in the hospital) waiting for a bed to open up at a rehab hospital, because he wasn't able to go home after his surgery. He had too much to learn about how to live with his new limb. My mom was left alone in our family home. I know this is the hardest thing my dad has ever had to deal with, but watching my mom in constant heartbreak was devastating. She's a strong woman herself, but it hurt me so much to watch her go through this.
Finally he made it into the rehab hospital (thank God for that), he was finally going to start some physiotherapy to get his body moving again. He worked with all of the staff there, Physio, Occupational, social work, the specialists... but mentally this took everything out of him. I had only seen my dad cry once in my entire life. I've now seen it more, it's heart-wrenching. My father has spoken about very dark things. Things that make me hold my breath and hope he starts to laugh. He's constantly worried about infection. Every small thing that pops up now is cause for anxiety. I feel useless. And I'm angry. So very angry.
November 20th my dad got him new Leg prosthesis. He took his first steps and hasn't stopped.
My dad was discharged home mid December, my mom refused to put up the Christmas tree without him and we were able to put it up as a family.
He's still in a dark place (still very anxious about infection, and not being a whole man), and I'm hoping that with time, and continued therapy, spring coming, and possibly (fingers crossed) his return to work these feelings he's having will ease. We have serious renovations to do in the family home now in order for my parents to stay. This is why i chose to share my fathers story (he's a conservative man, and it took a lot of convincing for me to get to write this). My fathers insurance doesn't cover anything for amputation, or prosthesis, and my family has never had much in the way of savings. This is my humble attempt at helping my family. All I'm honestly asking for is help sharing his story, if this finds it's way to people who can help, then we're blessed, and eternally grateful.