Hi all,
I hope this is okay to put in here. If not admins then please tell me where to move it to or delete it.

So I went to my Pre-Operation & Anesthesia appointment on Friday. I learned a lot, asked a lot of questions and got things firmed up some more. I am going in on 14 May 2018 to have my lower right leg amputated. So my Jeep and the engine are being put on hold for another year and maybe longer. It will depend on how well I am doing and how well I am walking with my prosthetic. If I am doing better I will work on the motor but if I am not then I will wait until the year after.
Frank you had offered to come up and help me get the engine done. I thought I wasn't going to be going in for surgery until the middle of June but when they offered me this surgery date I couldn't turn it down. I'd be going in even sooner but I had to get things done around my house and have things ready for this.
So I will post on here once surgery is over with and I am feeling well enough to post.

Rick

 

Wow.

I know you told me once WHY you were getting your leg removed.... but, for the life of me, I can't remember....

Here's hoping things go VERY well for you. Good Luck.

 

Geesh man. Good luck. Sending prayers your way.

 

Well since HeyYou brought it up I'll just answer now.
Back in 2004 I was in Iraq in support of Iraqi Freedom. I was the 1SG of the security company that guarded the main gate on LSA Anaconda. So one day I am at the East gate when a soldier tried to load a 240B machine gun that they were not trained on. This machine gun was mounted on a pedestal on the roof of a building. It was there to fire over us and engage the enemy if they tried to assault the gate.

Me talking to my troops,

Well as this soldier was trying to load it 9 rounds were fired and one of those rounds went thru my right leg. It entered the back of my leg and came out the front. I made a short stop while it shattered my femur and severed my femoral artery.

Entry Wound


Exit Wound


External Fixature

So they had to put a plate in my leg to fix my femur.


12 screws holding me together.

But it also damaged a nerve going to my foot. I have foot drop, hammer toes, muscle apathy, chronic nerve pain and who knows what else. So for the past 13 years I have been dealing with it but at the same time have been thinking about having my leg amputated. Most doctors told me NO because I had a live limb. Well my foot is always cold because of my circulation which is poor because the muscles don't work that should be pushing the blood back up my leg. And then on top of that I am in so much pain I can't do much of anything now because it hurts too much. Because I am not active I've gained 70 pounds which doesn't help things. I am like many of the other veterans you read about that have a back pack full of meds from the VA. So I finally found a doctor last year who said he would be willing to amputate my leg for me. There is some risk because I may not get rid of all the pain but I am willing to take this chance.

 

Ouch.

Hopefully, this will solve some of your issues. Make it a bit hard to get around for a while, but, once things heal up, let hope you are back on your feet, and up an at 'em again.

 

Wow. Many thanks for your service and sacrifice. I am truly honored to merely "know" you on this anonymous forum.

May the surgery go well and may God heal your pain. Blessings, sir!

 

I'll echo HeyYou's sentiment. I sincerely hope this achieves everything you're hoping for, and you get back out and enjoy life. My family's thoughts are with you.

 

Just a quick note to say thanks to all of you and to also say I wasn't posting this to get sympathy or attention from anyone. I just wanted to let everyone know about what was going on with me and my build on my Jeep and the stroker 408 that is going to get done one of these years.
My injury and leg has been an on going issue now for a long time and it limits what I am able to do anymore. So the hope here is that once I have this amputation I can get back to being active and able to do thing without being in so much pain.

Again thank you to everyone that replies and all of your best wishes. Once I am home from surgery I will post up how I am doing.

Thanks Rick

 

Best wishes to a ****ty situation Rick. Like everyone else has said, I hope this helps and I believe it will. My offer is open ended, so just let me know when you're ready. Just keep us updated in the mean time.

Frank

 

We appreciate the 'heads up' on the project, but, we are concerned about you as well. After all, you are a member of our community here. And being part of a community, means supporting folks when the need arises, whether they think they 'need' it, or not. See, the problem is, we LIKE you. So, we would like to see your life improve. (not to mention see how much fun that jeep is with a 408.......)