pics of my recovery.

caokgafamily

Well-known member
This doesn't have anything to do with mods etc or making a rv more hadicaped friendly but I thought I would share these pictures. As I laid there in the hospital my first thought was of my family and a close 2nd was the thought of never camping in our Bighorn again. On June 8th 08 I fell 22' off a ladder at home cutting a stupid limb out of a tree. For about 3 months I was paralyzed from the waist down. To make a long story short we have been out camping 5 times since my return home this past August. Alot of hard work and awesome people have really helped me and I will probably have a 90% recovery. When we were down camping in FL for New Years I walked 4 miles. I'm very blessed. Be careful out there your life change in a second.
 

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leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
I walked 4 miles. I'm very blessed. Be careful out there your life change in a second.

Yesterday, I made 4 trips on the parallel bars as part of my prosthetic fitting. The pain was unbelievable. This was the first time I have stood on two legs in nearly a year and a half.

I can't imagine what it would be like to go through what you have.

The prothestics guy says that yesterday was just a prelude to a kiss on what I'm going to be going through during my physical therapy.

Oh, joy!
 

leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
Lefty,

Congrats on your first trip with the new wheel :)

Jim

Well, it spun and squealed and slipped and skidded.

I think it was made by the same company that does the China Bombs!

Best time of all yesterday...was when I got to take the *&*^&^%^$ thing off!
 

billd

Well-known member
Lefty,

I use a leg brace, so I know it is not a full prosthetic, but I do know that if it does not fit right, it does hurt and I dont like using my brace. Make them fit yours till you feel comforatable using it.

I hope therapy goes well and you adapt to the leg prosthetic quickly.

Bill
 

TXBobcat

Fulltime
Not as bad as some of you but not a lot of fun either..

Doing better now and plan to be on the road on Feb. 8th...

BC
 

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leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
Lefty,

I use a leg brace, so I know it is not a full prosthetic, but I do know that if it does not fit right, it does hurt and I dont like using my brace. Make them fit yours till you feel comforatable using it.

I hope therapy goes well and you adapt to the leg prosthetic quickly.

Bill

I told both people at the fitting yesterday, that I did not want to hear "This is something you are just going to have to get used to." That is complete b********! I've talked to too many other amputees to know better. If the fit is correct, it won't hurt.. There is a big difference between pain and discomfort. When it takes three people to remove a prothesis, two to pull...one to scream, even from my laymans eye view...the fit was incorrect.

As I said before, it didn't hurt this much when they cut the blasted thing off! They are rethinking the donning and removal process on the leg. Looks like the nylon sleeve trick is not going to work. Maybe back to the hand lotion. Nasty, it smells, gets on your clothes, lets the leg rotate like a compass needle and builds up like 90 weight oil.

There's gotta be a better way.
 

flamingknitter

Well-known member
Lefty - Just a thought - I have a friend who lost a hand in an IED blast two years ago. He was having severe pain with his prosthesis and no amount of fitting would take care of it. They sent him back to Walter Reed and determined that he had a big tumor developing on the end of one of the amputated nerves. It was removed and has had very few problems with it since. You are right - there is a big difference between discomfort and pain. There shouldn't be pain. Good Luck!! I hope they finally get it right.
 

Rmcgrath53

Well-known member
important

Hi Steve. I can kinda relate to you. You soon realize whats important after something like that. Im glad things are getting better for you. I was parayzed from the neck down to my toes at U of M hospital for five weeks. then 2 months learning to walk again. I had contracted GBS and I still have numb feet ,but I am back to work and can do most anything I could before.This happened 10/13/07. 10/08 We bought our fifth wheel. You never know what is around your corner.
Take care
Ron
 

leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
Lefty - Just a thought - I have a friend who lost a hand in an IED blast two years ago. He was having severe pain with his prosthesis and no amount of fitting would take care of it. They sent him back to Walter Reed and determined that he had a big tumor developing on the end of one of the amputated nerves. It was removed and has had very few problems with it since. You are right - there is a big difference between discomfort and pain. There shouldn't be pain. Good Luck!! I hope they finally get it right.

I sure understand about that nerve stuff...phantom pain hurts just as bad as "real pain"
I feel my leg...and I can ever wiggle my toes...and they moved to a new location in 2006.
I've done a lot of reading on the subject of pain like his...and I wish him the best from now on.
 

cjbearden

Visitor
Guillain-Barre syndrome ? Read this website regarding this nerve disorder:
http://www.neurologychannel.com/guillain/index.shtml

Ron, best wishes for a full recovery. Exercise and walk as much as you can. I experience the feet numbness due to nerve pressure on lower lumbar. Have yet to find a really comfortably fitting pair of shoes so that I can spend more time walking instead of sitting. Also have a titanium plate in arch of the left foot which doesn't allow that foot to work properly and makes getting dressed interesting at times.
 

billd

Well-known member
I just hope it works out for you Lefty. New limbs are nice once they work.

Dont let up on them until you are statisfied.

I do hope it gets better soon for you.

Bill
 

Rmcgrath53

Well-known member
Hey Ron,
What is GBS?
Steve

Steve ,it is a rare syndrome that affects 1 or 2 in 100,000 people.It is a tricky virus or infection, they arent fully sure. But it tricks your immune system into attacking the linning of your nerves. So what happens ,is your body is tricked into attacking your own nerve linning( myllen sheath) the virus mimics the dna structure of your mylen sheath (the rubber around a wire). Then your nerve signal is short circuited . Then you become parylized. It is so rare that the first hospital I went to didnt figure it out, so the next day ,it was getting worse, so I went to U of M hospital and they figured it out right away. The treatment is either Plasma pherises, or Hemoglbin from 10,000 donors,(IVIG). I got five bottles of IVIG at 20,000 dollars a bottle. It over ran my immune system and slowed the proggresion down.Scarry stuff . They told me to get my wills together ,when I got there ,because they dont know how far it will go. Some end on resperators for months. I had lots of people praying for me and the proggresion stopped at my neck and the very top of my head was slighly numb. ( feet to neck parylized)It never affected my lungs. (Praise God). Ounce you go through something like that it changes you for ever
Ron Ps some get it from a flu shot...no more flu shots for me.
 
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