Mark McGregor noticed a blister on the bottom of his foot after working out in a gym last January.
Two weeks later, the blister was gone. But so was his foot.
McGregor, 69, had to undergo an amputation of his foot and a portion of his leg.
“I’m a diabetic,” the Grand Rapids, Michigan resident said. “I knew quite a bit about being a diabetic and not being able to feel so to always be on the lookout for sores. I guess I wasn’t paying enough attention. Bacteria loves sugared blood. That’s why it moves so fast.”
McGregor had been faithfully applying antibiotic cream to the blister, but it didn’t help much.
His sister took him to the emergency room and he was admitted to Spectrum Health Blodgett Hospital.
McGregor underwent a preliminary surgery so Marisha Stawiski, DPM, a foot and ankle surgery specialist with Spectrum Health Medical Group, could determine if the infection had reached the bone. It had.
Kevin Anderson, MD, Spectrum Health Medical Group orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon, removed McGregor’s foot and leg at mid-calf.
McGregor’s mind raced. Everything had happened so fast. Would he ever drive again? How would he care for himself? Could he learn to walk with assistance?
Just as his wound happened quickly, so did his recovery.
Jump start to recovery
Spectrum Health Inpatient Rehabilitation Center physical therapist Joseph Ross met with McGregor two days after surgery and recommended an early post-op prosthetic, which means patients are fitted and use a prosthetic within two to three weeks of amputation surgery, about a month earlier than traditional practices.
“Mark was a good candidate because he was cognitively able to follow the detailed instructions and was very motivated,” Ross said. “We always get the blessing from the surgeon, too.”
Laurel Packard, clinical lead for occupational therapy, said Spectrum Health is a leader in this area.
“Early prosthetic use is supported by the literature, but is not a common practice and is an innovation of sorts,” Packard said.
Nobody wants to feel that they can’t do what they used to do.
The early prosthetic set McGregor on the fast track to recovery, not just physically, but also emotionally.
The device is stiff and doesn’t move at the knee, but it jump-started his progress.
“It gives you the opportunity to actually stand up,” McGregor said. “And with a walker, start walking, very soon.”
The first day, McGregor took 10 steps. The next, 25 steps.
“You take 60 steps by the end of the week and you’re in seventh heaven,” he said. “You really feel like you are making progress quickly, which in fact, you are. It was very, very helpful. You don’t have time, except for in the middle of the night, to feel sorry for yourself because they have you working.”
McGregor had so much admiration for the device that he named it—Willy Walka. He said he never could have come this far without the device and the encouragement of his family and therapy team.
“The prosthesis really made me feel like I was going to be able to walk again,” he said. “They can tell you all they want, but you’re in bed. You can’t walk. They’re teaching you how to slide up from bed to a wheelchair and how to hop with your walker because you don’t have a leg.”
Walking again is a ‘big deal’
McGregor said he feels fortunate to have had the early prosthetic.
“It’s a transition that really helped,” he said. “The fact that I was fortunate enough to get one was fantastic for me. To see yourself starting to walk is a big deal.”
Ross said because the program has had great success with about 15 early post-op prosthesis patients, staff now considers it the method of choice, if possible.
The early prosthetic program is a partnership between the Spectrum Health Inpatient Rehabilitation Center and Hanger Prosthetics.
“We discuss each appropriate patient and I am usually present for the initial consult and fitting,” Ross said. “They have done a wonderful job for us. They found a way.”
Ross said Mark, like many patients, was in shock about the amputation, afraid and unsure of what the ramifications would be.
“An amputation is a very serious life event, affecting the core of who a person is,” Ross said. “You can only imagine the joy a person has when they enter our unit a week or less after their amputation and leave a couple of weeks later walking independently.”
That’s how it happened for Mark. Willy Walka is still in his closet as a memento, but he’s walking independently with a new prosthetic that bends at the knee and offers greater walking capabilities.
“I can walk all over the grocery store and I can walk up and down streets,” McGregor said. “I still can’t run, but I’m working on it. I can walk without a crutch.”
Through classes and road tests, he learned to drive with his left foot.
“Nobody wants to feel that they can’t do what they used to do,” McGregor said.
As an Amputee myself at 20 with first a behind the Shopart bone after a motorcycle accident on Vanborn in Wayne Michigan by a driver who ran the stop sign. And you wonder if you will ever have another girlfriend, or wife or children. It totally changes the way you feel about yourself. But after a couple years and first sexual experience and doing what we do stupidly in our teens & twenties. I found the confidence in college to date again. But then finding a marraige partner in the midwest capital of Nebraska and being Jewish there were few choices so that narrowed my prospects even more. But I found a Jewish gal and stayed together through college but as many do she moved on to bigger cities following her career choice. But, that gave me the courage to continue dating and eventually found someone to marry in my Shul(religious facility) and ended up with four wonderful children. Working in Criminal Justice I was injured at my Facility by an inmate who was angry at some other staff person and I was the recipient of shampoo and water mix on waxed tiled floor causing a spiral fracture on the same leg. I had always been told to get a TransTibial amputation as I might walk better but I jogged & sprinted and participated in Firearms and Self Defense with no significant problems except I occasionally had to take some time off my leg from AFO Partial that went under my heal and out to toe length. It was not always comfortable but pain management became a way of life. You adapt or you fail. It was never in me to fail at anything so you just smile and keep moving forward. Yet after the Transtibial where you lose 1/4 – 1/3 of your leg below the knee(BKA) is easier to transition I found yet found I was one of the two(2%) – five(5%) of patients whose nerves do not stop growing when cut off. They just keep growing until they make a ball of nerve tissue called a Neuroma. No amount of surgery seemed to work until Dr. Krabbenhoft of Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital was willing to inject Phenol Alchohol into the Neuromas and dissolve them. Unfortunately in the previous revision to cut the nerves I got a Staph infection of the incision and three(3) weeks later had most of the tissue at the end of the amputation removed leaving a very thin layer of skin then four(4) months in the hospital on IV Cephalexin Antibiotics to save the bone. I have a very strong “Bone Bridge” Amputation that was done by my very experienced Orthopedic Surgeon John Yeakley who was partially retired and according to every orthopedic Doctor I’ve seen say it is the best they have seen. Becoming a new diabetic afterwards has created a new set of worries. Having always been a fit and active person and father of triplet girls and a son I found the 18 months on my back a nightmare. It was very difficult on my wife and I had to fight Gallagher-Basset Insurance for every penny and still have to currently. I have had the luck to have a few very good friends through this 12 year ordeal where fighting insurance takes time and money. In my state a leg lost below the knee is worth 150 weeks at 66% of your base pay. So much trouble for so little. They get control of how it is paid out and fighting them means the Attorneys get their share so you only get 2/3’s of what you might have gotten so 100 weeks for you and 50 weeks to the Attorney. This is only if the insurance tries to short change you by having one of their “independent Doctors” examine you and try to piece together twelve years of treatment. I am fortunate to have had the same Prosthetist for 30 years Who were called Nebraska Orthotic & Prosthetic Services(NOPS) and have now been bought by Hanger Prosthetics. Between Brad Rosenberger, Randy Brown & Jerry Kassabaum who have taken care of me since 1986 when they were called Missouri Valley Orthodic & Prosthetic Center. I’ve had others try to get my business at various turnovers of business but when you build a relationship with someone who understands your needs, vanity & comfort level and connects with you as they have for me you can’t just find someone to fill that role. I think they ate what has made Hanger a Successful Business in our city. I am Glad they have a sign that says Hanger/NOPS as these three men have really been the artists of this industry in our area. When running into problems like mine in 1984 with an odd Amputation style with no Shopart bone angling backto the posterior it took some trials to get it to be the workhorse prosthetic for an athletic person working summers as a camp counselor having to outrun teenagers to get their respect. Then as I moved into Criminal Justice work and started working with inmates I broke a couple of those prosthetics on the job and these fellows would find a way to strengthen the material yet still get it into the shoes I wanted to wear. I had other places try to do some things they had and have them ask me to try to fit it in a shoe a third time in a single appt. that even a blind person could see was too bulky for the boot or shoe. And I would ask where Randy, or Jerry or Brad were. There is a lot of new cool tech out there for young Amputees & Amputee Athletes but when you meet a prosthetist who shares their story or is able to point you to or put you in touch with some of the best Doctors or therapists in the country or world, and you feel good when you walk out the door keep those people near and follow THEM not the business your visiting. Randy has done some thinking “outside the box” to keep me walking as I seem to be an atypical amputee with feet that don’t seem to always feel good straight up & down it has to feel right to walk out. Randy has spent the time to tune my prosthetic sometimes I feel sorry for the tiny changes I’ve needed but he obliges me until we find the right materials, and perfect fit that keeps me secure that it would not come off in action. My daughter was afraid for me to go on a freefall ride at Amusement Park. She is wonderful and caring and studying medicine. I am a lucky father. Thank you for sharing your story and if you have read mine disjointed as it may be. Feel free to edit, share or repost or email me but most of all be confident as there is still someone out there for you even if you think you feel less feminine or masculine or sexy. Just show yourself and be happy as you can because it’s infectious and little kids ask pointed questions. Oh and keep a file handy if you work around metal. You will tear a lot of sock holes from tiny sharp Knicks your prosthetic gets around ankle. And you can rollerscate, water ski, and ride motorcycles still. Life will not get better by worrying about the future.!!! Plan your Finances, plan your Career, BUT LIVE YOUR LIFE NOW, EACH DAY.!!!
I had my 5 left toes removed in April 2020.I was a runner also.I had a blister that,never went away.Easter,my foot ballooned up.I went the er,was diagnosed with diabetes and they needed to take my toes.I was stunned shocked.I remembered my Dr saying,get your mind right about this this right now,you will walk again,run again,and enjoy your grandchildren.I did what he said.after 8 months healing,including pt,I am walking without a cane.slowly but surely I’m coming back!Thanks be to god and my dr who got my mind right.The story above encouraged me to share my story.You can recover and succeed,if you pray and believe.ty.
Willie great to hear your story. I have just had my toes on my left foot amputated and I am 10 wks into the healing stage. All is going well but I do have some bad moments with phantom pain and I can sense the healing going on while I am even resting. Move around with walker but can’t wait to start working without support even though this seems months away. All I can say to other people in similar situation is to believe you will get there and I can guarantee things start to get a little better each week.