Born with Wonky Feet

Since leaving Queen Mary’s a lot has happened. The feet that I have been given is absolutely amazing. It works in the same way that a running blade does, just on a smaller scale. It is good for everyday use but it is also good for running. Using them is great as you can really smoothly get the heel to toe action you need for walking comfortably. I have learnt to use my prosthetics pretty competently, although I have tripped a few times. I have covered a lot of different types of terrain too. I have walked quite a bit through the woods with little problem, only becomes an issues when the ground is wet and soft but it is still easily navigated. I have been to sand and pebble beaches. Sand wasn’t too much of an issue, even when getting to the edge of the water. Pebble beaches are only a problem when going uphill, I have to really dig my feet into the pebbles with each step so I don’t slip back down. Snow is fine, although ice is a nightmare. I think overall I am confident enough w...

It’s been 3 years since I had my amputation and I have come a long way. I have accomplished quite a bit but I am also still working though others. I realise I didn’t actually make a post about my time at Kingston and Roehampton post op. Lauren and me travelled to Kingston Hospital the night before my operation, Lauren stayed with me until about 10pm and spent about an hour rubbing my feet and legs. They felt better then they had done in a while, to be honest I had pretty much no pain. So thank you Lauren you are fucking amazing. I cannot explain how appreciative I am, because of you my last hours spent with my wonky feet were pain free. After a cry and a cuddle Lauren went and I didn't see her again until the morning just before my op. The operation went well and Mr. W was able to do both legs in one operation. Once it was over I was kept in recovery for longer than hoped as my blood pressure was low and it wasn’t going up. Also I had been telling the nurses there th...

Since finding out I would be having the op I have sort of put it to the back of my mind as most of my worrying before was about the ifs-and-buts of Mr W. saying no again. So I haven't really had much to think about as I have just been waiting for the date of the pre-op so I could start planning. After Mr. W said yes I went back to Roehampton to see the Physio team, and as I had anticipated, it was very helpful. I learnt more about the exercises and the day to day activities. I was shown a couple of prosthetic legs and all the methods of attachments. I also saw the ward I would be staying on and met some of the nurses there (though they are re-decorating the ward and it will look different by the time I am there). So it was a good day. After 3 anxious months of waiting for the letter with the date for my pre-op assessment to drop through the letter box, I got a bit fed up of waiting and decided to give Kingston hospital a call to find out what was happening. My hope w...

I watched a video the other day which shows the main parts of a heart transplant. It was amazing to watch, and really shows how far medical science has come and how advanced it is. That they can take a vital organ, like a heart, and replace it with another and it works perfectly fine. Bloody awesome. So having watched that I decided to watch a video which I have been wanting to watch since researching about amputations. It is a video which shows a below knee amputation being performed. I wanted to watch it out of curiosity and so that I can see what will be happening to me and my legs. I have watched a different video of the procedure, its an animation which was very helpful but it isn't the same as watching it actually happening as it looked, obviously, fake and unnatural. So feeling pretty confident that I wasn't going to throw up over the laptop I clicked play. What a fool... It was easy going at first, the surgeon explained why the surgery was being performed, then he mar...