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I was involved In an accident 4 years ago.
I was struck by a vehicle while standing next to it. Had a lot of trauma to my right side of my body. Had multiple surgeries to repair my pelvis, femur, knee, had hardware used to rebuild all the bone that was damaged. While in the hospital I acquired an infection (E-Coli) it spread all the way to my hip. The orthopedic surgeon said the bacteria was inside the bone so they would have to take out all the hardware out and cut out all the infected bone about 1/2 femur and hip.
I also had a lot of nerve & vessel damage so my leg from the knee down has no sensation and the leg retained a lot of fluid so it’s always swollen.
My knee had a lot of damage but that is the least of my problems. I been on a wheelchair for 3 years now. They put me in antibiotics for good. I want to walk again but I’m not sure if I have any hope to be able to. If anyone is going to a similar scenario I would love to hear your story and how you are dealing with it.
Replies to "I was involved In an accident 4 years ago. I was struck by a vehicle while..."
So sorry you are going through this. I recommend you look up the group Walking without a hip. I also had my hip remove and part of my pelvic bone. I was in a wheelchair for a while but I had a great therapist who worked me hard so I could walk with a walker and a raised shoe. I can also get around short distances with a cane. There are a lot of great testimonials out here on the Mayo Clinic site for walking without a hip so check them out and don’t give up hope.
Hi, @pedrin63. As per @cheryl99's recommendation, I moved your message to this existing discussion.
- Walking without a hip joint: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/walking-without-a-hip-joint/
I did this so you can connect easily with others like Cheryl as well as @dzoneill @koala78 @kjz @trinab47 @pdtsomerset and many others.
You may also be interested in these related discussions:
- Living without a hip: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/living-without-a-hip/
- If you're living without a hip like me, please reach out to me https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/if-youre-living-without-a-hip-like-me-please-reach-out-to-me/
How are you doing today?
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Hello @pedrin63 and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. On top of what was, no doubt, a traumatizing accident I am sorry to hear of the resulting E-coli infection that lead to removing part of your femur and your hip. That must've been very devastating following surgery.
Your goal of walking again is fabulous. Do you feel like you have the right type of care team and/or doctors that you are working with to help you achieve that goal or get you as close to your goal as possible?