Late last year we were contacted by Stewart who underwent an elective amputation of his right foot in August having suffered years of pain.Stewart had written a diary of his experiences in the lead up to the operation and asked if we’d be interested in publishing it on the website in the hope that it could help and inform others who might be facing the same operation. We were very grateful for this thought and published Stewart’s Diary in December.
We were delighted to hear from Stewart yesterday with a very positive update on his situation. Despite suffering from pain in his stump, he is going from strength to strength and tells us:
Despite the pain in my stump things for myself have moved on massively, I got my new foot in April 2018, my Fiancee’ was with myself when did my socket cast and a week later when I got to put it on for the 1st time and walk again on my 2 feet since August last year, the feeling of walking was absolutely amazing and after 9 hours of walking on it one hour a week at my rehab centre, I was allowed to bring it home, so on Sat 2/6/18 all our family was at our house and for the 1st time they saw myself walk again on my 2 legs, and best of all my Grandson who has being very upset about me losing my foot give me a massive hug and simply said does this mean we can play football again, I told very soon we will.I am walking with crutches at the moment but I have managed to walk 4 times now just on my feet with no crutches, I have now done 18 hrs on my new foot, they are teaching myself at the rehab centre to walk up & down stairs, up & down step slopes, over pebbles, on grass, on & over steps, get in & out of a car.I am picking up my new auto car with foot adaptations on the 27/June/18 which I am so looking forward to get some of my independence back. I have being able to go swimming twice a week over the last 4 months just swimming with one leg which is really funny, I normally do 30 to 40 lengths in the hour which I know has strengthened my body up.
Stewart was very grateful for the support he received throughout the process of his amputation and rehabilitation and has enrolled on an open college course to train as a counsellor himself. He hopes to be able to help and encourage other amputees with the benefit of the wisdom of his own experiences.
We are delighted to hear that Stewart is making such great strides in every respect and by his very thoughtful wish to help other people going through similar life-changing decisions and their repercussions. He has the Bader spirit in spades and we know Sir Douglas would be behind him all the way. Stewart is going to keep in touch and we’ll keep you updated with his progress and graduation as a counsellor.
Can you help Stewart?
As mentioned, the one downside for Stewart in his healing process is that he is experiencing considerable pain in his stump, making it very difficult to walk on with his new prosthetic foot. He is currently taking pain killers to help him to cope with the pain but would obviously prefer not to have to do this and is keen to know if other amputees have experienced similar problems and, if so, whether they have any advice or information or tips to help with alleviating the pain. This is not phantom pain but physical pain from his stump. He had tried to make contact through the Bader Information Form but, unfortunately, this is still under review while we decide the best way to proceed with it. Please contact Stewart via his email address below if you feel you may be able to help or would just like to chat.
Stewart’s Diary:
If you missed Stewart’s Diary when we first published it last year, you can access it through the original post. It’s a wonderful honest account and well worth reading. Please click on the link: /personal-experiences/bk-amputation-hospital-diary-notes-stewart-2