we were just informed yesterday that my father-in-law has no further choice... his d/f/u's are to the point of no return.. the docs want to amputate both legs at the knees.. this is very hard to take for him and the rest of us as well.. he is a very proud , stubborn man who drove semi's for 37 yrs and a schoolbus for 8 years after that.. now he's looking at life (what's left of it) in a wheelchair... we have no words to console or comfort him.. we're all just as shocked as he is.. 2 years ago he was able to get out and fish every weekend and now he cant even get out of bed!!! if anyone has any info ...to any kind of support / counselling in the west / central minnesota area..please [ removed ] ... this is a hard decision to make... keep his legs and lose them eventually to the disease from infection or have them amputated next week.. we love dad a lot and hate to see the suffering and the fear in his eyes when he has to think of what to do because it IS his decision , we wont even try to decide for him.. so please , please read this and send us your ideas and prayers... and any info on life after d/f/u amputation... thx

I can't offer any words of experience but I can offer him, you and the rest of your family my prayers. May God help you all through this difficult time.

When my wife gets home I will ask her. Her dad lost a leg due to circulation problems. She found some support groups and also a foundation that will donate materials for prosthetic legs and she found a prosthetisis that donated his time. He was in such pain and poor quality of life he wished he had done it sooner. Will get back with you. How long did he have diabetes??

I'd tend to delay the decision as long as possible, until infection would be actual fact. Maybe it'd never happen. My foot doctor also has said delaying having a bunionectomy risks infection and amputation. My foot ulcer is infected right now, and he prescribed Keflex and an antibiotic cream, and off-loading of course. I'm also taking a blood thinner, have some plaque obstructing the arteries in that ankle. Is he doing blood testing and keeping blood sugar near normal? If not, it gets thick. And they can give you something to protect kidneys if very high.

Have you tried putting the above title into a search engine/ keyword search for lots more information than doctors have time to give you?

I've just printed out a lot of treatment options I never heard of, even six months ago when I searched. My doctors now listen to me more, was having a spot of trouble at first. The foot doctor recommended a visit to the University of Michigan Diabetes CLINIC, where I don't know if they do hypobaric oxygen treatments like a place in NY, or what.

Who knows, maybe some totally new treatment will come up soon, so don't you think he should wait as long as possible to lose appendages? It's good of you to be helping him find other opinions. Some offspring would be so afraid of this whole subject, probably will get the disease, but maybe they'll find a cure before then.

we were just informed yesterday that my father-in-law has no further choice... his d/f/u's are to the point of no return.. the docs want to amputate both legs at the knees.. this is very hard to take for him and the rest of us as well.. he is a very proud , stubborn man who drove semi's for 37 yrs and a schoolbus for 8 years after that.. now he's looking at life (what's left of it) in a wheelchair... we have no words to console or comfort him.. we're all just as shocked as he is.. 2 years ago he was able to get out and fish every weekend and now he cant even get out of bed!!! if anyone has any info ...to any kind of support / counselling in the west / central minnesota area..please [ removed ] ... this is a hard decision to make... keep his legs and lose them eventually to the disease from infection or have them amputated next week.. we love dad a lot and hate to see the suffering and the fear in his eyes when he has to think of what to do because it IS his decision , we wont even try to decide for him.. so please , please read this and send us your ideas and prayers... and any info on life after d/f/u amputation... thx

A month ago, my mother-in-law had her left leg taken off above the knee. Now this Friday, her other leg is being taken off. I'm just afraid she won't make it till Friday. It has turned black from the toes to now on the top of her foot.

She was a very active woman. She is a very talented musician and plays so many different instruments, including the saw and sews and does all kinds of handiwork. But for the last year, she has been stuck at home with a visiting nurse coming daily. When she was given the choice, life and lose the legs or to die, it was of course, lose the legs. What choice did she have? She is 82, and can't wait to get home because she has so much to do!

Her legs have caused her so much pain and I think this will be a relief to her. She has to have kidney dyalisis three times a week. But what I think is that without the legs she won't be on heavy pain medications. Her system was being poisoned by the poision in those legs. If she can go home, she will do much better.

Sorry about your Dad. My prayers go out to you in this trying time. I know it is not easy to watch these things happen to your parents as they age.

katlupe

I had a good friend who had one foot amputated and then the other leg taken off 3 years later just below the knee. He was able to walk just fine with 2 prosthetics. In fact he was much more stable after he got the 2nd prosthetic. I think that he was a perfect case of where there's a will, there's a way.

Good luck to your whole family.

Cora