My story todate. I am not writing this for sympathy but to warn my friends and family about the dangers of having an accident or even a cut to the finger if it cuts a nerve. As most of you know I broke my ankle and foot in three places in November. The leg was plastered on the day after having an x-ray at Huercal Overa hospital. While the top trauma surgeon (So I was told) plastered my leg and foot I could see my foot was at a funny angle in his lap. The reason for my comment now will become apparent later. About ten days later I returned to have another Xray and an operation was decided on there and then and after the surgery I was kept in overnight. As I remember I stayed in the plaster for about six weeks before returning for it to be taken off and another x-ray to be taken. All looked ok they said (Even though the classic signs of a disease were evident) and they gave me a hospital surgical boot to wear when out of doors. At this time I noticed that when my right damaged foot was flat on the ground my right knee and leg pointed towards my left leg. I showed this to my Spanish GP and another and also showed a hospital doctor who I had an appointment with who I understood to be a specialist in the field of trauma, nothing was said to be wrong. (Again even though the classic signs of a disease were evident) In the last few days of February I again visited H.O and showed another trauma doctor my leg and foot and he gave me permission to fly to the UK on an extended holiday to get some care from family there as Maggie and I were struggling to look after each other. As many of you know Maggie is permanently disabled and at this time I was almost housebound with having 30 steps to get up and down on my bottom every time I needed to leave the house. Consequently I didn’t do this often, especially as I was also in extreme pain with my foot. All of this time it could be seen clearly that my foot and leg below the knee was very swollen and a red/violet colour with exceptionally poor circulation. On the 1st march Maggie and I flew to the UK with a G.P’s appointment for me two days later. He referred me to a Trauma specialist at a local hospital after seeing my contorted leg. This I went to three days ago and I have been diagnosed with ‘Crps’ or ‘Complex Regional Pain Syndrome’. This is also known as RSD’ or ‘Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy’. (Google it’s scary) It is a chronic pain condition most often affecting one of the limbs (arms, legs, hands, or feet), usually after an injury or trauma to that limb. CRPS is believed to be caused by damage to, or malfunction of, the peripheral and central nervous systems. The central nervous system is composed of the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system involves nerve signalling from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. CRPS is characterized by prolonged or excessive pain and mild or dramatic changes in skin colour, temperature, and/or swelling in the affected area. I was lucky that my GP sent me to an injury specialist here in the UK as he admitted to me yesterday he only sent me because he like me thought my foot had been set wrong during the operation in Spain, even he didn’t recognise the classic signs of CRPS disease. This condition should have been picked up in Spain. The condition could have been caused by one of three things or all of them, the accident itself, the setting of my plaster wrongly or the operation itself. It should be standard practice that patients are advised to take extra doses of vitamin C after an injury like mine as this can prevent the disease being aquired in the first place. Anyway my future regarding this disease is unknown, I have been referred to a specialist physio unit to try and help but it is worth noting that a high percentage of sufferers get worse over time to the point of it taking over their whole body, I’m going to stay positive and keep taking the pain killers etc. The first photo is of my legs and the second is just one of many similar injuries plastered all over the internet, just Google Images and enter ‘CRPS’. I hope my story prevents someone else getting this disease.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 10:29:04 +0000
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