{"id":183,"date":"2018-06-12T00:08:29","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T00:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lp21.uk\/?page_id=183"},"modified":"2018-07-20T16:53:25","modified_gmt":"2018-07-20T16:53:25","slug":"bka-decision-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lp21.uk\/?page_id=183","title":{"rendered":"BKA Decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

On one visit, I saw my surgeon and told him that I had ‘had enough’ of my ankle, he asked me to explain what I meant, and I said I was at the point where amputation seemed the best option. He was very receptive and said that as a surgeon his job was to do whatever he could to fix what was already there, sometimes more focused on fixing, rather than what the patient wants.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course this conversation was not out of the blue, my wife and I had discussed the possibility of amputation in some depth many times.<\/span><\/p>\n

The following day I emailed the surgeon to confirm what I had said verbally, and from there things were put in place to enable me to visit and see other departments such as the limb fitting service to see if I was suitable for a prosthesis and to discuss in more detail with a specialist.<\/span><\/p>\n

The visit to the artificial limb centre was a big eye opener, they checked that I was suitable for a prosthesis and that I had enough upper body strength etc. they also showed me an <\/span>example of what sort of limb to expect, and because my left knee is not overly stable, they could make the sides higher to provide more stability.<\/span><\/p>\n

After many appointments with my surgeon and his colleagues, I was then referred to a vascular surgeon who would discuss and potentially undertake the amputation. I had seen this surgeon before on a previous visit to hospital, he had installed and removed my <\/span>groshong line<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was extremely helpful that both my current surgeon and the vascular surgeon were very approachable, easy to talk to and I also trusted them.<\/span><\/p>\n

After many discussions with the surgeon, my wife, my counsellor, my GP and other members of my family, I agreed to the amputation and a date was then set. April 30th 2014<\/span><\/p>\n

During this time I was also seeing a counselor to help with depression, it was very reassuring to be able to discuss what was happening to someone who was not emotionally attached. I would recommend this to anyone. As long as you remember, they don’t have the answer, they help you find the answer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although I could refuse surgery at any time, I had decided that once I had been admitted to hospital, there was no turning back.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On one visit, I saw my surgeon and told him that I had ‘had enough’ of my ankle, he asked me to explain what I meant, and I said I was at the point where amputation seemed the best option. He was very receptive and said that as a surgeon his job was to do … <\/p>\n

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