Limb Loss Life- The First Days, Weeks, Months, and Years as a New Amputee

By Jeffrey Mangus

Amputations are global and hundred of thousands happen every single day. But, what happens after an amputation and how a person adjusts to their new life as an amputee is still quite a mystery. Limb Loss Life tells the hard truth about living as a new amputee. This book is a no-holds-barred non-sugar coated depiction of life and how to live it as a limb loss person. An eye-opening view, directly from a person who is living with limb loss, the information is direct, straightforward and down to the nitty gritty on what you need to know to live a healthy, and bountiful life as an amputee. This is the sole reason for this book.

If you feel you would like to have the advice and wisdom from someone going through the same limb loss journey that you are, then get ready to join countless others around the world on learning about the journey during your season of amputation. Experience the best and learn about the worse case scenarios with your limb loss.

Limb Loss Life will shed much-needed light and help you through the dark forest to reach a bigger and brighter day as a new amputee.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeffrey Mangus
• Release date: Mar 24, 2019

Jeffrey Mangus

Jeffrey A. Mangus is a professional Author/ghostwriter and CEO of GHOSTWRITING USA. Jeffrey specializes in non-fiction books, ebooks, blogs, webpages for business, individuals, companies, large or small.

Book preview

Limb Loss Life

The First Days, Weeks, Months and Years as an Amputee

Copyright

Preface

Dedication

Disclaimer

Introduction

Part 1-The Loss

Chapter 1 – Reasons WHY for the Loss

Chapter 2 – Different Types of Amputations

Part 2-The Recovery- First Few Days and Weeks

Chapter 3 – Your Feelings and Emotions

Chapter 4 – Dealing with Deep Emotions

Chapter 5 – Physical Healing

Chapter 6 – Phantom Pains & Sensations

Part 3-The Moving and Mobility- Getting Around the First Weeks

Chapter 7 – Leaving the hospital

Chapter 8 – Preparation and Planning-Home

Chapter 9 – Get Moving

Part 4-The Healing- Getting Physical

Chapter 10 – Exercise for Amputees (upper and lower extremity)

Chapter 11 – Wound Healing and the Prosthetic Process

Chapter 12 – Prosthetic Preparation and Fitting

Part 5-The New Prosthetic Limb – Getting Your Life Back

Chapter 13- Your Body and Your Prosthetic

Chapter 14- Adjusting to Prosthetic Life

Part 6- The Limb Loss Life

Chapter 15 – Routine Prosthetic Living

Chapter 16 – Make the Most of Your Limb Loss Life

Copyright

LIMB LOSS LIFE©-First edition. Copyright 2018. Jeffrey A. Mangus. All rights reserved. Printed in The United States of America.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

For more information, visit http://www.limblosslife.com

LIMB LOSS LIFE© may be purchased for education, business, and or sales promotional use.

Cover design by Jeffrey A. Mangus

Library of Congress Cataloguing

1-78458794441

Mangus. Jeffrey Allen.

Limb Loss Life©

ISBN: 978-1-798-15997-2

Preface

For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. Does anyone think about these words when they say them?    I spoke those words on our wedding day and little did I know I would put them into serious practice. This wasn’t the flu or a broken arm where you’re back up and running in a few weeks, this was forever.  These words rang over and over in my head when my husband Jeff was hospitalized with a flesh-eating bacteria in his foot and had to have it amputated. There was no turning back, we were in this together for the long haul. 

   I almost can’t even remember how I felt at first. I wondered, Do I run and let someone else deal with this? My knight in shining armor, my rescuer, the man who would take care of me. I needed to take care of him. 

   The months ahead were a mystery to us. We took it day by day and figured it out as we went along. There were days of anger, yelling and slamming doors, and days of crying Why me?! An emotional roller coaster!  And then there were those days of quietness and long talks and realizing this is still the man I married. He had one foot now instead of two. And we can thank God that he had his life. Anger, bitterness, depression; you’ll feel those feelings. But hang on to those who love you and want to help. Establish stronger bonds and relationships through this time. Don’t be afraid to talk about your feelings, whether you’re the patient or the caregiver.  This time with Jeff made me learn to love in another way, a deeper way. I appreciate the little things more and I believe this journey has made me a better person. Come to think of it...turns out he did rescue me. Kelly Mangus 2019

Dedication

The first person I dedicate this book to is God. With Him nothing is, will be, or can be impossible. God has been my strength and I know beyond any doubt He is there with me, right beside me, protecting me and giving me His strength to have come this far in such a short time. I am His child and He loves me and protects me.

I dedicate this book to my wife Kelly, who has been at my side every second, endured every tear and experienced every ounce of pain alongside me. I could not be here today without you and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for loving me and taking care of me and being there every step of the journey. I also dedicate this book to my kids, Brady, Ryann, Gabrielle, Jacob, Sophia and my sweet little dog Gracie. I am also dedicating this book to my parents, Fred and Irene, who, have always been there, through it all for me unconditionally. I love you. Thank you to my sister Dianna, for all of her support and graphic design magic that has helped me throughout my business life. I also dedicate this book to my precious first grandchild Elora Grace who's smile can truly light up a room. I also want to thank three truly special family members in my life Katie, Allison and my son-in-law Thad. Thank you to all of my closest friends and family and thank you for making sure you saw me and spent time with me when I needed it the most. Thank you to my Editor Anne Weise for all of her guidance and hard work on this book. I want to thank all of my musician friends everywhere. I want to thank the girls in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Jeannie and Lala for being there and helping me through. I also want to thank my church worship team, my pastors Andy and Chad, and all of my home group friends for always being there. You know who you are.

Disclaimer

I want to take a second to add in a disclaimer here for your protection and mine. The information provided in this book should help educate you and inform you. The book is meant to be used for informational purposes only. Do not use this book as sole medical advice. I am not a doctor or physician and the advice is not meant to diagnose, treat, or use as medical advice or diagnosis or treat your condition. Please consult your physician about any issue relating to your amputation or care. For all intents and legal purposes, myself and the publisher are not responsible, nor liable for any negative or dangerous outcomes derived from the information gotten in this book.

Any company names, or outside resource links may change and myself and the publisher are not liable or under control for these changes.

Quick note-I wrote this book for ALL amputees of the lower or upper extremities. I didn’t feel it would be fair to write a book only about lower limb loss with all of the special amputees of varying degrees around the world. I am also writing this book from the perspective you are a new amputee, pre-amputee, still healing, and/or on your way to your new prosthesis. I will say a lot of the views and the stories I tell about myself throughout the book is from my exact experience as a lower limb amputee. I have done my best to include true information for all to take away. I hope you do. 

Introduction

I bet I am right when I say no one on the planet ever wishes to lose a limb. It’s just something you never think about. Until you spot the lonesome old man standing on a street corner with a fake leg made of plastic, metal, or even wood. There it is; the word fake leg. Throughout my life, I never gave that term a second thought. Times and things have changed and I dislike that term any longer. I included the term only because this is what I have always called them… until now.

Why now you ask? Simple, I am a new amputee and just, as of this writing, December 2017, lost my leg below the knee in. This was unexpected and the amputation, along with the lengthy hospitalization hit me and my family like a nuclear bomb. My life blew apart in front of my eyes. Plus, the events leading up to what happened prior to my leg amputation was bizarre and almost killed me. I will go into that story later.

None the less, to be open, I’m writing this book and I’m not certified as a Prosthetist nor do I have a certification from any accredited prosthetic or orthotic school. I do however have a certification I am very proud of. I am a Certified Peer Visitor (CPV) through the Amputee Coalition. In full disclosure, with that said, I am not a doctor or physical therapist. I am only a writer, but I feel I am qualified to write this book.

Why? Because just like you I am living the limb loss life.

Yes, just like you, I am an amputee who has lost a limb. Before the loss, I have lived a busy, but normal life until I went septic and almost died. I’ll talk about this in complete detail later in the book. I am now living daily with my limb loss and it has changed my life. It has changed it in ways I never thought possible.

I wrote this book to help people. People just like you in your position in your life. I want to help guide you through these times because after my experience of losing my limb, with no exaggeration, I was thrown to the wolves. I was tossed out into the cold to learn about a life I didn’t understand and in complete honesty, never gave much thought about at all. They left me to fend for myself – dealing with the drastic changes that made their way front and center in my life. I never imagined this would be how my life would turn out, nor considered I would ever have to deal with. Not in a million years.

When I lost my leg, my wife, and I were like scared children wandering through a dark rainy forest, trying to find the light of day. We both didn’t understand why this was all happening and we soon realized that we had to cling to one another to figure out the plan and the next step. My limb loss came fast and everything around me became faster. The hard part was it knocked me down to a dead stop. I could not do much to keep up with anything as my life seemed to speed on by.

I could not have made it without my wife Kelly. She did everything for me and allowed me to focus on getting back up on my two feet. I thank her from the bottom of my heart for putting up with every painful moment and enduring it all. I could not have made it this far without the help from my entire family and friends. Everyone was there and gave their understanding and leant not only their hands to help but their shoulders to cry on.

This is the sole reason for this book. I want to give back and show others there is light at the end of the tunnel. I wrote this book from my direct point of view. Not the cheap seats. This is a first-hand look at life with limb loss. With all of that said, I hope you feel comfortable knowing you are reading the advice and wisdom from someone going through what you are going through. If so, I want you to get ready.

I hope you join me in agreeing that even though I am minus a doctorate degree, I am qualified to write this book. I hope it helps you on your journey during your season of amputation. I want to instill hope in you during this time. I know how hard it can be. I am living it along with you and I have experienced the best and worst with my limb loss. I hope that this book sheds much needed light and helps you through your dark forest to reach a bigger and brighter day.

Part 1

The Loss

Chapter 1

Reasons for the Loss

There are numerous factors that can cause a person to lose a limb. One thing I know for sure is that an amputation of a person’s limb can always be traced to saving a person’s life in some form or manner.

You are reading this book because you are a new amputee or maybe you are facing an amputation and you’re curious about what to expect? Or, you are reading this book because you have a family member that is facing or has suffered an amputation? Whatever the reasons you’re here, I bet I can say the amputations are because of complications in your or your family’s life that have put your or their lives at risk.

I know. I was facing death before my amputation. My amputation saved my life and here is how.

My left foot had contracted a flesh-eating bacterium. I was feverish for days prior but did not know what was wrong with me. To be transparent, I had lost a toe and part of my left foot two years prior to losing my leg. Yes, I am a Type 2 Diabetic and before the toe loss, telling on myself, I was not taking care of myself at all. My life comprised bad food, bad sleep, and just plain bad living that led me down this path. Up to that point, it was my fault and I take the blame for my condition.

After losing the toe and part of my left foot, I knew my life had to change. I started down the right path in taking care of myself. My A1C when I lost my toe was 18! 15 is the highest on the scale. But I dug in, determined to make myself healthy and within six months, after eating all vegetables and following strict diabetic management, I dropped my A1C down from 18 to 7.1. It was a great achievement, and I felt so much better.

This is where things unravel. Even though I was eating right and following my strict diabetes management, my wound on my left foot would not heal. It was frustrating and tiresome. I fought this wound for almost two years. There were trips to the wound clinic and periods of undergoing Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for weeks with still no good result in sight. In November 2017, I had a quarter-size wound remaining on my foot that needed to heal.

I see now that by going into the wound clinic three days a week for dressing changes, I was playing Russian Roulette with my foot. I lost. At some point, during one of my visits I contracted a flesh-eating bacterium in the wound of my foot. They scheduled me to play worship guitar at my local church Riverridge and I when I woke up I could not catch my breath, and could get out of the bed. I didn’t know what was happening. My body was shutting down. This wasn’t apparent as I thought I was coming down with the flu. So, I made it to church and struggled to get inside to play. I made it to the stage and, unknown or anyone around me I was going septic as my kidneys were shutting down and my heart was failing. I found out later on that my heart went into a dangerous heart rhythm called Wenkebauch. In laymen’s terms, they also called this an AV block or 2nd degree heart block and I was not getting enough blood to my brain and organs. I was dying and as you will see, my amputation was necessary to save my life. I understood the severity of the situation. I had to come to terms with these facts rather and knew my life was about to change forever.

Causes for Amputation

Since my limb loss, I have found that there is a huge misperception when someone sees a person who has suffered limb loss. That misperception has a name. That name is WAR. I am guilty of this myself. Every time I saw a person missing a leg or an arm over the years my immediate thoughts were, They must have been in a war.

The truth is most folks, in most instances, attribute any missing limb first to a casualty of war. I know. It has happened all the time when people see my leg and they ask, Were you in the military? Or, where did you serve? I always tell the truth and say, No, thank goodness I wasn’t in a war. Please allow me to reiterate, as heroic as that would be to lose my limb protecting my country, it isn’t the case. I never take credit for serving my country like the brave soldiers of the present or the past.

Even though there are countless wars throughout history, the good news is war, isn’t the main cause of limb loss.

In reality, the majority numbers of limb loss come from health related issues, such as sickness and diseases we all know of today. There are many direct and indirect reasons people undergo limb loss other than serving in the military. Most every amputation cases can point to causes such as:

Irreparable limb injury

Heart attacks

Stroke

Frostbite

Diabetes