One of my MCs is going to have her leg amputated below the knee. She's eleven. I need to know everything there is to know (so to speak) about the operation, the recovery. How long will it take? What is the process for rehabilitation/artificial limbs?
Also I imagine there could be some psychological effects from such an intense trauma. (I'm thinking it'll be a bicycle accident) What kinds of things would she/her family have to deal with?
Note from moderator: edited to create [TOPIC].
----------
Nano '04: Song of the Lark (won)
Nano '06: Broadway Lullaby (won)
Nano '07: Tessa
50,005 / 50,000
Oct 16, 2008 - 15 45
Don't know anything about the operation or recover, much less rehabilitation or artificial limbs.
However, I'd figure that psychological effects would be - for the most part - the way people treat people who don't have certain limbs. How people perceive "unwhole" people ... it would be hard on someone her age.
----------06 - critical mass, won.
07 - sin cera, won (but unfinished - that is what october is for)
08 - empty eyes/seventh secrets, on hold due to grounding. x_X.
50,591 / 50,000
Oct 16, 2008 - 20 40
Hey - I work in rehabilitation medicine and one of the mini-clinics we run is an ortho/amputee clinic, so I could get you a LOT of information. But I'll tell you this right off the bat:
-Recovery varies a lot, but you can usually expect several weeks in a cast that's changed weekly. This is to protect the sutures that will have closed up the end of the residual limb and the really fragile bone now. When the cast is taken off, we clean things up, inspect the wound, and "range the knee" (do range of motion or flex the knee a bit and move it around). Towards the end of the process, as the suture line is healing, we'll remove sutures and put on steri-strips which are pieces of tape used for the areas that are either JUST closed or almost closed. (Where sutures would be overkill.)
-After the last cast, they're put in a shrinker stocking. (I can explain in PM.)
-Eventually they'll be fitted for the socket/gel liners/prosthetics. This can be a VERY long process because the size of your residual limb can fluctuate a great deal. There's also the need for it to be a really good fit so you're not hitting bone against any part of the socket and causing an open wound. Those are not good.
-Pain is to be expected - in the beginning, you can expect a pretty regular routine of meds. (I think we see a lot of oxycodone.) We eventually taper this as the pain starts to fade.
-Psychological effects are a HUGE part - you're missing a limb, your body has been altered. Forever. Imagine a family member dies - all of those stages of grief are what you're going to go through. If there's intense trauma, PTSD could also come into play. Depression is NOT uncommon, especially with setbacks in the healing process.
Please feel free to PM me - I can elaborate, answer any more questions, give you specifics about the actual surgery, send you links, etc.
52,901 / 50,000
Nov 4, 2008 - 15 49
Apologies for hijacking this thread, but I have a semi-related question....
I've heard that people who have lost a leg below the knee often wear a stump sock to control the fit of an artificial leg.
Is it the same if one has lost a leg above the knee? Are there any other reasons to wear a stump sock? Also, would a woman who has lost a leg above the knee be likely to go around in shorts wearing a stump sock, or would she be more likely to leave her stump uncovered?
Thanks.
0 / 50,000
May 15, 2009 - 14 49
On a somewhat related topic: my FMC has her leg trapped under... well, let's call it a boulder. It's crushed about halfway up her shin. Now it's a fantasy setting, i.e. not quite modern tech level, and her companions need to move quickly. One, helpfully, has a sword which can make a perfectly clean cut through anything. My questions are: how to quickly patch her up so that she won't die, and then what should be done once they're safe to help her? They have antiseptic (likely phenol derivative, not ruling out that one of them has a semi-magical powder stashed somewhere on them).