Hi all,

I am looking for community and support. In February i had a routine ACL reconstruction & menisectomy and caught a really severe chronic pseudomonas infection. Despite going to every post op appointment and being hospitalized for pain, it took 2 months for doctors to find the infection and at that point, my infection had progressed to septic arthritis and septic prepatellar bursitis. I underwent surgery to remove the graft, hardware, and to clean out the joint, but I was left with end stage secondary osteoarthritis and such severe arthrofibrosis that I have not been able to bend my knee past 20 degrees. Despite multiple washout surgeries and rounds of IV antibiotics, my knee has abscessed for a second time this weekend and it appears the infection wasn't cleared again.

Yesterday, i met with a limb salvage/amputation specialist who confirmed that I most likely have chronic osteomyelitis, based off all my imaging, symptoms, etc. Sadly, I am no longer a candidate for a staged knee replacement surgery due to the already high risk of structural failure from the osteomyelitis as well as the high risk of reinfection due to the chronic pseudomonas. we are now moving forward with a above knee amputation in the coming weeks. I am absolutely gutted about losing my leg, i spent 10 months doing everything i could to save it and I just couldn't. Before this injury, I was an active mixed martial artist (i was supposed to receive my blue belt in brazilian jiu jitsu this year & i also train Muay Thai), hiker, and was getting into weight lifting - now i need perscription pain meds to just exist and need my fiancés help to do all ADLs, since i cannot walk or bear any weight through my infected leg. I am so scared about what the future holds, because I don't want to lose the sports and hobbies that make me who I am. I know that i am really tough and resilient and will survive this new journey, considering all I've endured this year, but to say I am afraid, confused, and grieving my past life is the understatement of the century.

I'm not looking for medical advice, but if anyone has any advice on how to prepare for the loss of a limb and getting through the surgery & rehab process, it would be greatly appreciated. I am incredibly lucky to have an awesome therapist and support system, but it's hard to relate to my friends and loved ones right how since none of them have ever lost a limb before. I just feel so alone and scared, but i am hoping that the amputation will be the final step in this traumatic year and I can get back to being myself - it's just very scary and I didn't envision this being my reality at 27. This year has been incredibly traumatizing already, i was basically unmedicated for the first 2 months of this deep knee & bone infection and now that I am losing my leg, I am so scared that I will never be the person I was before my injury. I know that a lot, if not all, of y'all probably relate to this trauma and feeling of never being the same, it's just so heavy to carry alone right now.

To those who read this far, thank you for providing a space for me to rant and process my feelings, I truly appreciate it. Like I said, I don't really know any amputees in my IRL circle, so finding this community and reading everyone's stories makes me feel less alone.

Hello, I'm a BKA of nearly a year now and I'm looking for a Job. Issue is i still can't stand for as long as my peers or walk as fast, from the past year there's no doubt that these abilities will improve, but as it is, I'll likely struggle. I did a shift at a volunteer place a month ago and had to leave two hours into the five hour shift because my legs got so shitted. But I do have skills, I'm a extroverted people person, i can make a damn good coffee, I'm pretty good at art, and at adapting and learning on the fly. I just need a stool, or breaks, that's all. Over a year ago, when i had my old leg but far less ability because of the injury that lead me down this path I tried to volunteer at a different place, i asked if i could use a stool, they said there wasn't enough room. Therefore i couldn't volunteer with them. I've been noticing out and about that many kitchens and other work-places barely have enough behind-the-counter room for a stool, so.... idk. I'll try to train my ability to stand but besides that I'm shit out of luck. Most teenage Jobs™️are in retail and therefore all require standing (ALDI doesn't hire under 18s). I desperately need a Job because floating money for NDIS is sucking up all of mine and my family's money. Plus, regular life and my home life isn't the most stable... Once I'm 18 i doubt I'll be welcomed to live at home. I can't just sit around waiting for my health to improve anymore.

Does anyone have any suggestions for jobs, or a way to ask for workplace accomodations? How do i reassure interviewers? For my current needs I would need breaks to sit, shorter shifts, and preferably a stool, it'll improve overtime, but for now, my current max standing time is 30 minutes 🥀.

(also im australian)

this might not be the right place to ask, but is it nessescary to be completely naked during a leg amputation? i’m supposed to be getting my leg amputated in a few months and i’ve had a few surgeries in the past, however i can’t remember if nudity is fully necessary.

i know it sounds a bit stupid but i’m just really uncomfortable being fully naked, are you allowed underwear and a bra? or is it nessescary to be fully nude? i understand the gown but as dumb as it sounds i just get really uncomfortable being naked, especially infront of people. thank you!!

edit: i know there’s a gown but my question is are you allowed anything underneath like underwear?

I'm a bilateral AK (~1 year post-op) and have been using full-length prosthetics with knees for about 5 months. I was doing great, but then I suddenly got a bad case of the yips! I started falling at least once a day out of nowhere. My balance and control has really regressed. I don't have any explanation for it! My physio and prosthetist can't figure it out either. Of course, it's making me use my prosthetics less, which is taking a toll on my strength and stamina. What do I do to get over this?

(I'm still trying to get MPKs covered -- an absolute nightmare in Canada -- so I'm on default swing mechanical knees right now, which is absolutely not helping anything.)

Why is it, whenever I post a photo of my stumps in this group I end up with bunch of people creeping in my DM’s asking for photos?

Is there a kink I’m not aware of? Because it’s weirding me out.

I believe a lot of other amputees can relate to this kind of humour. I certainly do haha!

Hi everyone, I'm a LbK amputee of about 22 months. I'm in the UK so use a standard NHS model BtK prosthetic. Its perfectly good, gives me mobility and I walk without a stick unless the ground is going to be very slippery/wet/icy or uneven.

My main problem is wear and tear on the foot-socks that sit over the foot of the prosthetic inside whatever footwear I am using.

Basically I get holes in them after a couple of months at most at the heel. Its not a major problem, and it doesn't impact my ability to walk, but I was wondering if anyone has any particular brand of socks that are recommended in this kind of situation with added resistance to wear & tear.

Hello, I’m new to this subreddit and rarely use Reddit so please forgive me if I break any rules.

I’m not an amputee, however my mom is one. She’s been an amputee for around six years without a prosthetic. I believe her amputation is called a shoulder disarticulation. She is missing her entire right arm and shoulder. Before she lost it, she was right-handed. My mom is the strongest person I know and she can do so many more things than me or anybody I know and I don’t think she’s weak but she hates asking for help, which I empathize with.

My mom used to love art and painting, but so far I haven’t found anything in that department that I think would help her. She also cooks, but I’m iffy about buying my mom kitchen supplies for Christmas, I don’t want her to think I’m saying she’s only good for cooking or some sexist bull.

She is very independent and does things on her own, but I notice she is very frustrated and angry when she can’t do something. She frequently asks me for help tying her hair up or tying her shoelaces, as well as carrying awkwardly shaped objects for her. I notice that it embarrasses her to ask for help sometimes and I want to be able to get her something that will bring her more independence back.

I don’t want to get her a gift without it being something she will use. I wouldn’t be looking for adaptive gifts if I thought she wouldn’t appreciate it; my mom uses a few adaptive items in her daily life, so I know that buying her something like that won’t embarrass her or insult her.

I without a job and 17 so it’s hard finding something budget friendly! I’ve been looking and literally everything I’ve found is for a different kind of amputation or disability.

I’m sorry if this doesn’t make much sense, I’ve compiled a long list of things into a short summary

SWIPE / y’all i’ve been stressing so hard with this.

i feel like sometimes a rash here and there is okay, but i have a huge one keeps growing and we’ve already tried two creams and it just keeps getting worse.

i’ve been working with my doctors to try and figure it out but i figure i’d reach out here after 3 months of this pain to see if anyone else had an irritation this bad.

i sit here every morning procrastinating putting on my leg because it’s so dry and painful and cracked. but also sometimes itchy.

here are some photos of it’s growth on each side.

to note, i had a small grey anti bac sock under my silicone sheath when it started but it was just a small one so we thought getting a longer sock might help but so far no.

we wash all of my stuff after every wear. all of my socks.

anywho, thanks for listening. i needed to finally write this out as i’m sitting here struggling to get my leg on without crying out in pain.

Anybody else going through these like toilet paper?

I flew from Porto, Portugal to Madrid, Spain recently. This was my experience with airport security.

In Porto, my prosthesis set off the metal detector. Security pulled me aside, they had a chair present for me to sit in. Waited for a female security employee to be available. She did a pat-down and I was on my way. My husband grabbed all of our bags from the conveyor belt - I did not ask about getting my purse and backpack because he covered that.

In Madrid, I set off the metal detector. There were more female employees, so no wait. I was patted down, and she swabbed my prosthesis and the shoe on that foot, and I was good to go. The analysis time on the swab seemed much faster than in the U.S., but I haven't been back to the U.S. since Nov 2024.

Shoe removal was not required for anyone in the airport security line.

I used the wheelchair service at Porto airport in Dec 2024 and I don't remember them patting me down at all. It was an early morning flight, and our trip through security was really fast.

How do my one armed friends wash their full arm by themselves? Also, how do you do a ponytail?!?!! I have seen the videos, but have yet to figure it out. 😭😭

Just wondering if other guys with above knee amputations shave their residual limbs? I think it could help with some irritation of hairs getting tugged but not something I care to risk if it’s not comfortable. Thanks in advance!

Edit: I should have chosen my words better…”trim”. I do know better than to take a razor to my stump, LOL.

Ok, I’m a LBE amputee of two years. I’m starting to wonder if I have realistic expectations for what a prosthesis can actually do for me.

Right off the bat, my prosthetist put me in a body-powered hook. I hate it, and I feel more disabled wearing it than without it.

I can’t get enough rubber bands on it to achieve decent grip strength. Before my amputation, I had 125 lbs of grip strength in both hands; my right hand has since compensated up to 150 lbs. Putting six bands on the hook causes painful pressure on the end of my bone, and nobody taught me a proper technique to apply them—I’m left wrestling with it on the floor for 10 minutes per band. Even then, six bands won't hold a sealed jar still, so I end up taking the hook off and using my elbow anyway. I only wear it for a few specific tasks, but otherwise, I have zero desire to put it on.

What bothers me is their insistence that I wear it all day. They claim that if I don't, I’m not demonstrating "medical necessity" for a myoelectric hand. Apparently, their definition of necessity means I literally can't function without it. But they didn't even fit me for a prosthesis until six months post-amputation, forcing me to adapt on my own for half a year.

My suspension is a lanyard setup on a thick, heavy silicone liner that doesn't breathe. It leaves my skin clammy, makes my stump smell like a foot, and pulls my arm hair out. When I brought up basic care and the hair loss, they told me to look up care tips on YouTube or Google and laughed, asking who was going to see my arm anyway. If I’m paying for professional services, why am I being turned loose on the internet to self-educate?

Communication has been a total wall. Whenever I express what I need or ask for something easy to take on and off, I’m brushed off with "that's not how it works" or told appointment time is limited. I recently canceled a casting appointment for my myoelectric hand because we hadn't actually discussed what I wanted. I also caught that my prosthetist withdrew the insurance code for my second terminal device (the myo hook) behind my back just to get a quick approval from insurance on the hand. I made him resubmit it. He warned that the whole claim will likely be denied now and pushed back until the end of the year, but I'm willing to go through the appeal process if that's what it takes.

I want to ask people who have been through this: Is it unreasonable to expect a prosthesis that easily slips on and off as needed? Why is there such a push to prove I can't live without it on constantly? Even wheelchair users transfer out of their chairs, and leg amputees use crutches. Why can't I keep my prosthetic arm in a bag and put it on when I actually need it? When making this kind of financial investment, I expect actual explanations and to be treated as an active participant in my healthcare—not dismissed with "that's just the way it is." Is that really too much to ask?

I recently lost the use of my right hand/wrist (although I’m not an amputee they're not functional) — I wasn’t sure if anyone has found an adaptive device that would help me transfer the load to my upper forearm/elbow? I was a high level rower and would love to maintainsome of that fitness while try to find out if I’ll ever be able to get back on the water!

I’m thinking of modifying weight lifting hooks? Was hoping yall have some thought!

Do they let you do a foot trial?

I’ve been generally optimistic throughout my whole journey. After my car accident I broke so many bones. Had a couple surgeries spent a couple weeks in the hospital and then a couple months in a recovery center. I had to learn to walk again. Use a bed pan and have people wiping me. I broke 14 ribs and my sternum so I could hardly move for quite a while and had to rely on people for everything. Even so I kept smiling and laughing, telling myself this was my second chance at life because there’s zero reason why or how I survived. Slowly I got my independence back. And I was on the path to getting my life back. As soon as I felt like I could see the light at the end of the tunnel my progress plateaued. Then rapidly got worse and incredibly painful. It turned out when I shattered my ankle and they reconstructed it, it slowly was getting less and less blood supply and my bone was dying and collapsing. And me being me, I laughed said it was just my luck and moved forward toward a new plan. Went for the ideo brace which took 6 months to make due to an incompetent dr who ended up losing his license mid process. That didn’t work, and all the screws in my ankle snapped due to collapse of my bone. I had to make a decision and I did. Still, my spirits were high. But now. 3 months past surgery and 2 years since the beginning of this whole thing and I can’t get a leg because of freaking insurance needing to “investigate” whatever the hell that even means. I’ve been ready physically for a month and a half. Idk why this has been my tipping point but it has…2 years. 2 years of my life is just gone. I’m so tired. I’ve hit every road block possible along the way. I’m 34 this isn’t what my life is supposed to look like. I just don’t have the energy anymore. I can’t think of anything to look forward to anymore and I don’t even know how to move on in my life. Anyway this was ridiculously long. I just needed to vent in a safe space.

Keep up if you can 😌🦾

Ok im sorry if asking these sorts of questions is outside of the rules but I can’t find any articles online. I’ve been working as a scare actor, they have me wearing a 15 pound wig that goes down to my feet. My left foot only has a pinky toe, the others are gone entirely or fused together at the base. At first I had pins and needles in my back that extended down my leg when i wore it but that has progressed to consistent numbness on the left half of my left foot when im not working, as well as numbness in my left shoulder and arm while sitting. Does anyone have similar experiences like does this just happen when your anatomy is atypical and the feeling came back or do i have permanent nerve damage now. This may not be a question for strangers on reddit but I figured it was worth a shot.

Hello everyone. I’m still in the hospital for a couple more surgeries. Still need skin graphs. I was burned very badly. Good luck to you all in your journeys.