Any below the knee amputees?

[Jimmy Dean]

I was in a MC wreck 6 months ago. Trimalleolar fracture, right ankle. reconstructive surgery has not gone well. very limited range of motion, a lot of pain.

Had another surgery last week to try and correct this. things are worse instead.

So, options look to be fusion or amputation. apparently an ankle replacement is not a valid option.

Thoughts? Experiences driving afterwards (and being as we are on a mustang board, not driving a soccer mom car to pick up the kids, I mean throwing her around the track kind of driving.)

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[Park]

Sorry to hear about your experience, a coworker who is paralyzed below the waist and has a 2018 Camaro has the hand controls and drives great !

 

[Balr14]

Please take a look at the you tube series "Amputee OT". This is by a woman who dropped a car on her foot changing a tire and what she has gone through.

 

[IPOGT]

Wishing you the best outcome buddy. Weigh your options carefully and get different opinions before deciding.

 

[Jxp1962]

Sorry to hear this, and i hope you get some sort of recovery. I have no personal amputee experience, but do work in a rehab hospital, many amp patients at our facility - inpatient and outpatient therapy…, you can not even tell by their gate they are amps. Still an amputation as you describe might require hand controls as Park mentioned.
Sorry and i hope you get some sort of workable recovery or acceptable adaptive solution. Best of luck JD.

 

[Balr14]

I worked on a study some years ago about amputations (costs, complications, long term outcome, etc.). The things that struck me the most are:

Prosthetic legs are very expensive... $30k - $50k or more. I hope you have good insurance.

They require constant upkeep and adjustment

Below the knee amputations can sometimes lead to above the knee amputation because the lower leg is unable to handle the stress over time.

If it were my choice, I'd take the fused ankle.

 

[key01]

My roommate in college placed his foot on the rim of a commercial spinning water extractor in the hospital laundry and the sheets grabbed his leg and pulled him in. After trying to save his ankle/leg he had to have his leg amputated below the knee. It was his right leg and he had to use hand controls while driving. You could barely tell he was an amputee as he walked in his prosthetic very well.
There was an amputee in SCCA when I was racing back in the 1990’s by the name of Michael Roman. He had a serious infection in his right leg that caused him to eventually lose his entire leg after several progressive amputations. His cars were all hand controlled and he was fast. He went on to also set some land speed records at Bonneville. He died in 2012 of lung cancer of all things. His website was raceagainstpain and he was a real inspiration to many. One of my clients was a family member of Mike, so I was able to meet him.
I know you have some tough decisions to make and I wish you well into the future on your path. I’m sorry this happened to you, but you will find the way to make yourself whole with all of the help available. Take care

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