Hi Bill,

Bill, I am so sorry to hear of your difficulty. You are in my thoughts and prayers and I agree with the prayers of our friends who have already posted here. May you find strength in these prayers and be encouraged that the Lord is here for you and will sustain you in the circumstances and outcome. Please keep us informed as you can.

Bill, I am sorry to hear of this and was directed here by our friend Roger. Please keep faith friend, God does answer prayers.

My Mother-inlaw is an inspiration for you. She has already had bypass surgery 2 times, one stent, then back for 3 more stents in heart area. Her latest has been operations on both legs to remove the blockage. She is doing fine and is 83.

Whatever decision you make, I know God will be there if you just ask Him.

Blessings to you,

Sara

I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and thoughts - i am sure you will understand my not replying to each individual post .

Wouldn't you just know it its Friday 13th.

After talking with the consultant I am faced with the following options.

On the one hand a major bypass operation going from the left upper chest area and tunneling all the way down to the leg with a very high risk of it not working for long if at all, and if it works then it needing to be repeated sooner or later probably sooner. There is also the risk of internal infection / rejection

The alternative
Amputation of the leg with an end to the constant pain I have been living with for the last several years.

Needless to say this was no easy decision to make.
The consultant definitely was not happy with having to face ether option but I could tell he was not convinced that option 1 (the bypass) would work considering the number of previous operations I have had.

After looking at the options and taking into consideration what each option would mean and how it would affect my life for the future I have decided to take the amputation.

I am not prepared to continue on with bypasses that might or might not work and I can not see why this one would work when all the others have failed.

At least with an amputation If things go right I could be back to walking with out crutches within the year. where as with the by pass that is not an option.

So as harsh as it sounds I see it as the only chance of improving my current quality of life. and on Wednesday (18th Aug) It will happen.

No I am not happy about it but on the other hand I am not down in the dumps as I have known I ran the risk of losing a leg for 7 years now.

Life just likes to bit you on the a$$ at times and you just got to bit back.

Quote:
I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and thoughts - i am sure you will understand my not replying to each individual post .

Wouldn't you just know it its Friday 13th.

After talking with the consultant I am faced with the following options.

On the one hand a major bypass operation going from the left upper chest area and tunneling all the way down to the leg with a very high risk of it not working for long if at all, and if it works then it needing to be repeated sooner or later probably sooner. There is also the risk of internal infection / rejection

The alternative
Amputation of the leg with an end to the constant pain I have been living with for the last several years.

Needless to say this was no easy decision to make.
The consultant definitely was not happy with having to face ether option but I could tell he was not convinced that option 1 (the bypass) would work considering the number of previous operations I have had.

After looking at the options and taking into consideration what each option would mean and how it would affect my life for the future I have decided to take the amputation.

I am not prepared to continue on with bypasses that might or might not work and I can not see why this one would work when all the others have failed.

At least with an amputation If things go right I could be back to walking with out crutches within the year. where as with the by pass that is not an option.

So as harsh as it sounds I see it as the only chance of improving my current quality of life. and on Wednesday (18th Aug) It will happen.

No I am not happy about it but on the other hand I am not down in the dumps as I have known I ran the risk of losing a leg for 7 years now.

Life just likes to bit you on the a$$ at times and you just got to bit back.

So bite back Bill :) ...thats life for sure !!! Well Bill if whats going on with the leg your'e going to loose endangers the rest of your being...then its best gone I'd say. Don't mean to sound dis compassionate..but yes if this assures you a less painful life henceforth...then its better this way. Getting around thereafter will surely need getting used to...and I'm sure you will cope better than we know.

Know our thoughts n prayers follow you thru it all.

Pauline