Surgery went well.

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This morning I had to get up at the unholy time of 4:30. I packed up my cousin and took him to the hospital. 6 hours later we were home.

The doctor said, even with toes freshly amputated, he can walk as much as he can bear.

We'll see how things look Friday at the checkup. Just praying that it goes well this week and he doesn't overdo it. He has no feeling in the foot, so no way to know if he's pressing too far, and I'm not to change the dressing.

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Down to blood flow

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Diabetics can suffer from bad blood flow to their limbs. If it gets too bad, the limb, finger, toe can literally die and gangrene can set in. This is exactly what happened to my Father. He lost one leg from just above the knee because of Gangrene. He also had Parkinson's.

What happened to Rose's cousin is not that unusual for diabetics.
Samantha

Having spent

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Angharad's picture

nearly 50 years trying to prevent amputations of toes, feet and legs, your cousin has my sympathies. Don't overdo the walking on fresh injuries or you could end up with ulceration, not what you need. I hope all goes well.

Angharad

He'll walk a marathon

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Rose's picture

LOL. I say that in jest, but since he has no feeling (peripheral neuropathy) in that foot, he doesn't know when he's pushed it too far.

It's a double edged sword. He doesn't feel pain when he's injured, but that's part of the problem. The injury gets larger because he's not aware that it's there. A couple of years ago, I noticed a bit of a limp, and then when he got his shoe off and went to the rest room, I saw he was leaving blood on the floor. He had no idea. I think the limp was because it was finally deep enough to notice.

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Hugs!
Rosemary

10 years of Diabetes and missing a toe.

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My previous foot doctor told me not walk around barefoot.
I stepped on something while barefoot and developed an infected sore spot on the bottom of my foot. It started to stink and I knew I was in trouble.

I went in to the hospital for 13 days. 1 MRI and an operation later I was short a ring toe. 4th toe left foot was amputated. The antibiotics line kept plugging up and it had to be put in a different vein.
I had neuropathy bad enough that the only pain medication was to sedate me for surgery. I did not feel it when my doctor put in the bare end of a medical q-tip type swab stick through my foot tracing the path of the infection. I only knew it was there when I saw it sticking out of the top of my foot.

I have had diabetic shoes and other problems since then.
A good Podiatrist can be your best chance of keeping your appendages. I have seen my doctor once a week for almost a year one year.

Watch out for your kidneys because diabetes can lead to Chronic Kidney Disease. I have it and have to wear leg squeezers to keep the water build up in my body out of my lower legs where it can go from water blisters to open sores.

I wish I had taken diabetes more seriously earlier in life. I have a family history of diabetes.

Please take care of yourself and your family and friends with diabetes. It can go from a problem in your life to a life threatening disease.

Thank you for posting about your cousin.
Duane Hancock

Ouch! My cousin had a bone

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Rose's picture

Ouch! My cousin had a bone that had come through the skin on one of his toes. The doctor did the same sort of thing. He took one of those swabs and was tapping a spot in the toe, and told me, "I'm touching the bone here." Not a good thing. Because of the peripheral neuropathy, my cousin simply doesn't feel it.

I have type two diabetes myself, and try to keep my cousin and another that I care for on a strict diet, but both have no understanding of the need for such a thing, and both get sweets as often as they are able to, often without my knowledge, but when I check their blood sugar, I find out, but it's too late to prevent damage. I can only minimize it at that point.

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Hugs!
Rosemary

PAD = Peripheral Arterial Disease

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Donna T's picture

Sorry to hear of your cousins plight. I hope all surgery is finished.

My doctor diagnosed me with a mild form of PAD (Peripheral Arterial Disease), warning me that restricted blood flow was why my toes become very cold; low blood flow... that lower blood flow could result in loss of toes. Go figure.

I'm not diabetic but have had 3 instances of "black toe" aka frost bite over many years of skiing. We all need to take care and to be aware.

Best wishes & healing thoughts for your cousin.

Regards,

Dee

Donna

Thank you!

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Rose's picture

I believe I've looked at Dr. Barnard's book.

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Hugs!
Rosemary

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