Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Patrick Hanley did not believe the first surgeon who told him he needed to amputate his leg. He didn't believe the second surgeon who said the infection on his right heel had reached the bone and amputating that leg above the knee was inevitable.
Hanley has all the risk factors for limb amputation. The majority of all non-traumatic limb amputations occur in diabetic patients, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hanley has been diabetic for more than two decades and needs dialysis three times a week. He suffers from diabetic neuropathy, which means he has almost no feeling in his feet and the blood flow to his legs is poor.
Still, Hanley didn't want to give up. The Allentown man was determined to keep his leg and persevered until he found a doctor who had the answer he wanted to hear.
"There has to be another way," Hanley and his wife insisted after seeing a third surgeon who recommended amputation.
http://www.mcall.com/health/mc-diabetes-save-leg-limb-allentown-20131028,0,1809819.story
Hanley has all the risk factors for limb amputation. The majority of all non-traumatic limb amputations occur in diabetic patients, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hanley has been diabetic for more than two decades and needs dialysis three times a week. He suffers from diabetic neuropathy, which means he has almost no feeling in his feet and the blood flow to his legs is poor.
Still, Hanley didn't want to give up. The Allentown man was determined to keep his leg and persevered until he found a doctor who had the answer he wanted to hear.
"There has to be another way," Hanley and his wife insisted after seeing a third surgeon who recommended amputation.
http://www.mcall.com/health/mc-diabetes-save-leg-limb-allentown-20131028,0,1809819.story