Today, April 27th, 2024, marks 701 days since my hospital admission for what was anticipated to be a brief treatment involving IV drugs and the insertion of a PICC line. Unexpectedly, the situation escalated dramatically in less than a day. Here’s a brief recount of the rapid changes:
- On the morning of May 27th, 2024 (Friday), I consulted with my GP.
- By the evening of May 27th, 2024, I was admitted to CCLHD in a ward, and IV drugs were administered through a cannula in my arm (the usual spot for blood draws due to difficult veins).
- The next morning, May 28th, 2024 (Saturday), I underwent surgery for the amputation of my left little toe. Although surprised, I wasn’t overly concerned as it was just the little toe, and a year prior, my right little toe had been amputated.
- Following this, a bone scan and other tests were conducted over several days while IV drugs were continued, negating the need for a PICC line at that point.
- On the morning of May 31st, 2024 (Tuesday), I returned to surgery for the amputation of the adjacent toe. That afternoon, I was informed that a Below Knee Amputation (BKA) was necessary as there were no other options to save my leg, which explained the prior two toe amputations.
- On June 6th, 2024 (Monday), my nurse arrived just after 6 am to prepare my leg for surgery, stating they would collect me shortly. I was not aware of the surgery scheduled for that day; I had believed it to be two weeks away, as per the initial discussion. This was merely six days after the hospital admission, resulting in three amputation surgeries within this short period of time
Today marks 701 days since the onset of my hospital and surgical journey. For 18 weeks and 6 days, I was confined to a single room at CCLHD, undergoing surgeries and coming to terms with becoming an amputee—a more severe physical disability than I had ever experienced before.
It’s hard to believe it’s been 701 days. Time truly does fly. It’s just over 100 weeks since the beginning of this challenging period.
More coming soon …
