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Old 07-28-2013, 06:31 PM
 
Location: Missouri
6,044 posts, read 24,017,427 times
Reputation: 5182

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My diabetic BIL is living with us right now. Last week he ended up in the hospital with infection in his foot. Long story short, he had a partial foot amputation this morning. I don't know all the details, approximately 1/3 - 1/2 of the front/toe part of the foot. They are hoping this will be all he needs to have removed, but they are not sure yet. Hopefully they don't need to remove anymore. Anyway, what to expect when he comes home? What is the recovery like from surgery like this? I really don't know anything about it. How much time off from work will he need? Is there anything we should do here at home to help make things easier for him? Any information would be helpful!
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Old 07-29-2013, 01:32 PM
 
Location: Lake Station, IN
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Noticed no one has posted yet so I'll try to help even though my husband's amputation was below knee. He had an infection in his toe but by the time the hospital treated it, it had spread. He goes to dialysis and there was another patient there that had an amputation like you described. For that guy, his is taking a very long time to heal but he won't stop walking on it to give it time. My husband's took about a month to heal up. This guy is going on a few months so far and it's still not healed. That would be my first bit of advice. While he may want to get up and move around, he needs to stay off of the foot as much as possible. They should give him crutches or something. Even if he's just making a short trip to the bathroom or something, use them. Do not put the weight on the foot.

He will be a fall risk since he will feel off balance for awhile so just try to keep a wide and clear path for him. If you have kids, make sure toys aren't laying around where he'd trip on them. If you have pets, keep their toys out of the way. Make sure there are no electrical cords out where he'd get caught up in them. Stuff like that. To get a slight idea of what it feels like, try walking on one foot the regular way while on the heel of the other foot.

While it's healing, he won't be allowed to bathe so maybe get some bath wipes or something similar. Once he is able to bathe again, non-slip bath mat for the tub and if you have enough room put a chair next to the tub to make it easier to get in and out.

As for how much time to take off work, I really can't help you there. It will all depend on how long it takes him to heal and that varies.

One other piece of advice, watch for depression. My husband went through it. He said he didn't feel like a real man anymore and that he was useless. Yes, he lost more than your BIL but the BIL might still get the same feelings. He might try hiding his foot from you. He might be uncomfortable going in public for awhile. Losing a piece of your body can be traumatizing. Encourage him to just take however much time he needs to heal physically and mentally.

Oh and amputees can get what's called phantom pains. They feel a pain where the body part is missing. For example, my husband will sometimes say his foot hurts. He actually goes through the motions of pretending to rub it and it makes it better. If he has an itch, he'll pretend to itch it. Sounds weird but it works for him.
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Old 07-29-2013, 02:10 PM
 
Location: Mostly in my head
19,855 posts, read 65,582,737 times
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There is a foot support scooter for people that have a knee. You kneel on it on the bad leg, hold on to the handling and walk and slide. It looks like a kid's scooter except the bottam is at knee level. You could ask his P.T. therapist about it.
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Old 07-29-2013, 08:54 PM
 
Location: Missouri
6,044 posts, read 24,017,427 times
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Thank you for the responses, they are helpful.
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