With a prosthetic leg, I began to live a full and active life

My name is Artem, and I want to share my story so that people do not doubt and make the right decision about their health and limbs in time.

It all started in childhood, I was born with a physical defect, a dimple on my spine. It did not manifest itself in any way, so the doctors said that it’s nothing, let the child grow quietly.

But when I was 10-11 years old, the foot on my left leg started to deform and my toes started to tighten. During consultations in hospitals with different doctors, I was told that I had to have surgery on my spine, because a lipoma was found there and the spinal cord was fixed. In 2010 I had an operation, I had a long recovery from it, because my legs were paralyzed, but then they really let go and sensitivity appeared in the right leg, but the left foot remained without feeling and without movement.

As I did not give load on the left foot, trophic ulcers appeared, which did not heal and all the years until 2020 this condition persisted. Only had time to heal it, it appeared again. Then I got to the hospital, gangrene started, they tried to help me cure it, and all this time I was suffering, walking on crutches.

During the treatment I underwent many procedures: injections, massages, rehabilitation, but the trophic ulcer could not be cured.

In 2018, the decision to amputate came to me, but the doctors talked me out of it. They said they would heal the skin, break and reinforce the leg with self-tapping screws because it was deformed. The leg was reassembled. Half a year the leg healed and as soon as I was back on it, the trophic ulcer reappeared. So, until 2020 my torment with the treatment of the ulcer continued.

As I said earlier, in 2020 I decided to have my leg amputated. I was again persuaded not to do it, but I was already tired of unsuccessful treatments and wanted to move normally and live fully with a prosthesis. In the end, the doctors themselves confirmed that my decision was correct and well-considered.

On December 16, I had my leg amputated and after the surgery, I was very happy about it. And as strange as it may sound, my leg had been bothering me for all these years and something had to be done. After the stump healed, I was finally able to walk, swim and think about prosthetics.

Last year I was given a prosthesis, I walked on it for three weeks and the ulcer opened up again. My pain and despair cannot be described in words, I went to the hospital again, where I was reamed and again waited for the stump to heal.

While my stump was healing, I was on an active search for a prosthetic and orthotic center because the doctors told me that the prosthetic where I had a previous prosthetic was not done correctly!

After a long search I found the page of the rehabilitator of the Tellus Center, he told me about the prostheses and where he had his prosthetics done. I contacted the center and was told about the documents I needed to collect for a free prosthesis, as well as the process of prosthetics and rehabilitation.

When the paperwork was ready, I came to the center and had new stumpers made. And from the first day I went on my own two feet.

I want to say to those people who are in a similar situation as me and whose limb has peculiarities, bringing pain and discomfort – do not be afraid to make a decision about amputation, you will quickly come to your senses and realize that in the current situation – amputation is for the good. There is no point in suffering with trophic ulcers and being limited in movement, jumping on crutches, when there is a solution – amputation and replacement of the limb as a prosthesis, the opportunity to live a full life.

I thought for a long time before the amputation, but I have never regretted it, because now I realize that it was the only right decision in my situation. Even though I am now without a leg, but with a prosthetic limb I can live a fuller and more active life than I did with a leg.