Amputation

[Susie Kaye]

I finally made the decision and scheduled the surgery. I'm going to have my right arm amputated. The Dr is going to remove it at the shoulder. The only movement I have over there is my scapula. I really think I'm going to be in much less discomfort.

I will write and let you all know how I get along. My Dr thinks I'm a good candidate for amputation. I guess I will find out. Aug 25th is the day I have my surgery. I have lots of prayers being said for it's success.

Thanks for everyone's input!

[John K]

Good Luck Susie everyone here will be pulling for you. I admire your courage. I think you are making a great decision. I think i'm headed that way too but still dragging this thing around for now.

John K

[jacko]

If its not too late for a bit of advice from one who's been there...

Don't have your arm off at the shoulder - leave some of the upper arm in the form of a stump. It won't look too pretty, but there are 3 reasons why I'd advise this:

(1) you'll be able to wear your shirts and dresses better;
(2) you'll have something there to hang a light shoulder bag from;
(3) you'll have enough remaining to attach a false arm if you decide to go that route.

Of course it's entirely your decision, and you've probably discussed it with your surgeon, but if not, you can give him/her new instructions right up to the point at which you go under the anasthetic.

Best wishes for the op. I'm sure that you'll feel liberated and happy afterwards. I hope everything is a complete success.

[Susie Kaye]

Thanks for the advice Jacko! I had thought of most of those things. I'm not going to use an artificial arm and my shoulder slopes down so bad that leaving a stump wouldn't help how my clothes look. Part of the reason for removing the arm is to take the weight off my neck & back. So I may be wrong, but I think leaving a stump is just defeating part of the purpose of the amputation.

Thank you for everyone's well wishes. I will keep everyone posted on how things go. I have a small complication in that my diaphragm is paralized on the right side. My lungs were affected too by my accident, so the surgery is a little more risky. So I appreciate any and all prayers.

Thanks all

Susie Kaye

[admin]

Susie,

I had my arm off just below the elbow and a shoulder fusion, and don't use a prothesis. I do however use my arm *all* the time to hold things like books, paper, the mail, etc.... I didn't realize how much I use it until I broke my collar bone mountain biking 2 weeks ago.

My advice - have the shoulder fused amd leave at least down close to the elbow. You will use it alot and withht e fusion it doesn't get in the way at all.

[admin]

i had a bike accident 12 years ago resulting in bpi.the same day as the crash i had a nerve translant from my leg,it took nearly 3 years to get use back in my arm but my hand remaind paralized,after several more ops and 2 more years i decided to amputate my hand,i now have an electronic hand which iuse nearly every day,i also ride my bike again.plus i have a hook which ican use for different jobs.but i still have nearly the same pain,but i never regret the amputation

[admin]

Susie, I hope everyrhing went well. Write when you feel better.

[jacko]

Is it just me, or is page 4 not coming up ?

[admin]

I can't get page 4 either

[admin]

Hey you guys-- About amputation, prosthesis ect--amputation accomplishes only one thing for sure: it gets rid of the dead weight of the wasted arm and makes every day life a little easier.I have described it as 3 feet of rope tied round your neck with a brick on the end.You don't have to worry about where it is anymore, tying it up in a sling, shutting the door on it ect. and it makes those intimate moments with your S.O. a lot better because that "third party" is GONE. BUT--DO NOT EXPECT AMPUTATION TO BE ANY KIND OF 'CURE'. It will not elimminate pain altho it may make certain aspects of the pain easier to deal with. You MAY need to have your shoulder blade fused to your rib cage if you have damage to T1-T2 and your shoulder blade "wings" a lot. You MAY need to have your shoulder joint fused with a piece of rib to provide a stable base for the prosthetic. A prosthesis works from a harness around your chest & back. There are cables connected to the "hook" and to the elbow joint.You flex your shoulder,expand your chest, "shrug" to pull on the cables to move different parts-for instance-"shrug" to pull cable that raises elbow then give a little "jerk" to lock the joint where you want it. Then you push with the other shoulder to tighten the cable that opens the hook, put the hook in place over the tv remote(for example) then relax the cable & the rubber bands close the hook and -viola!-you've picked up the remote. It sounds a little hard and it is. One reality you must face is that the nature of BPI is that we lose a lot of the very muscles that are needed to operate a prosthesis.Another thing- my prosthesis was constructed of the very latest materials for light weight and it still weighs in at 7 or 8 lbs. That does not sound like a lot BUT- almost no functional muscle, severe atrophie,calcium loss. It's a different story when you have it on all day in 90 degree weather.
All this sounds very discouraging I know but I wish I had known all this. I still would have the amputation- that was the best thing I ever did- but I would have wasted a lot less time thinking I was going to some how replace my arm. My prosthesis is a great thing and I do use it. I love to fish and it's been indespensable for that. When I have to lift something like the back end of a motorcycle-I customized the harness with football shoulder pads and 1-1/4 inch nylon straps for strength. But I do not wear it all day every day. I have it when I need it & the rest of the time it's in the closet. Look at your prosthesis like this: IT IS A TOOL- use it when you need it. But face the fact that your arm is GONE and you cannot replace it. I hate sounding so grim but false hope is worse than anything and I know what I'm talking about. And anyway, by the time I got my prosthetic I knew how to do about everything I needed to one-handed and it was in the way most of the time-- I found myself having to work around it!! So- amputation was great for me. Prosthesis? It comes in 'handy' sometimes.(get it?--'handy'?huh?--'HANDy?-- get it?)------Ronin