Pin There Done That...

[ayabrea38]

I am now back home after having my poor left foot mangled and bashed up and have an external fixator with 9 pins going through my ankle and shin!!
I am not sure yet how long I will have to keep these on,maybe upto a year worst case but at least I have made it through the two ops and still have my foot!! I have had my ankle fused so no more heels for me,which is a great pity as my left leg is about an inch shorter than the right.Built up shoes DO NOT look easy to but in your local shops :(

If anyone out there has had one of these frames,or knows of any good blogs about having a frame can you let me know just something of your experiences,feeling a bit isolated and keep having questions pop in my head and there is no one there to answer,but today I got my act together enough to log on here again in the hope there are other out there.

Hope to hear something from you!
Nice to be back here with good news for a change :)
Aya B

[marval]

Sorry I can't help, but I am glad you are through your ops, and still have your foot. I hope someone can help you.

[Baldric]

Sorry, can't help, but wish you well!

[pixie373]

Omg! What happened to it? If it helps, you can buy insoles to make up the difference in the length of your legs. I'll post again, when i can remember their proper name:-\

[ayabrea38]

I wish I had a better answer for you,and I was asked soooo many times in hospital how I did it,but the honest truth is..... I DON'T KNOW!!!
How daft is that,but a quick explain is-I was in hosptal,very,very ill and was in the bed for about 5 months,so when I was lying on my side a lot,my ankles tilted over.I wore splints that straightened them out,but when I started walking again the left one tilted over.Then Hubby went in hospital for a major op,so I was walking loads more and the ankle tilted even more.

By the time I had an x ray,it had tilted over so much the bones where broken and dislocated,meaning I had a mush of bone held together by tendons and muscles as an ankle.

This first doctor said there was nothing he could do for me,so was all for giving it the chop,but me being a stubborn cow,and rather attached to my ankle got a second opinion and referred to the limb reconstruction unit in Liverpool.

There the wonderful doctor said he would fix it!!!

I have had a lot of hospital experience in my time,but never an operation,which was one of those things from childhood I always wanted to avoid,so I was absolutely dreading having to have 2 ops,but it was OK,not as bad as I was expecting.

So now I am back home,trying to get to grips with walking again,but the arthritis in my right knee makes crutches impossible for me,so I am using a zimmer frame.The worst thing so far has been getting to grips with the stairs,having only an upstairs loo,I am camping out in the bedroom,while everyone else does everything else you take for granted,for me.

So today I am feeling rather down.
Thought I would pop on here and say hello again to everyone who knows me and the history me and my OH have on here with bad luck :)

[Pooka1950]

Hi ababrea my neice was born with one leg longer (or should that be shorter?) than the other and had to have several ops and several fixators to put it right. I know that her parents got a lot of support from a charity called Steps.

www.steps-charity.org.uk

Much of the info on their site is aimed at parents/children but there might be something on there about fixators that could be of interest. I haven't looked at it in any great detail but I know they have a forum. BTW my neice's story is on

http://www.steps-charity.org.uk/Lower-Limb-Story-Centre/successful-leg-lengthening-for-pffd.html

Wishing you a speedy recovery!

[Pooka1950]

Just checking in and saw that I got your name wrong - sorry ayabrea !