Amputation in Australia is
the second-highest rate in
the developed world. But why is
it happening? What is the reality
of life as an amputee? How can
you avoid becoming another
statistic? We’ve got the answers
for you.
“I used to think having
diabetes was like having a
cold – a bit annoying, a bit
inconvenient, but nothing too
serious,” says 53-year-old Rod
Winton from his home in Perth.
“That was until I had to have
some toes amputated from my
right foot four years ago. I was
dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe
it was all happening as a result
of my diabetes.”
Diagnosed 10 years ago with
type 2, Rod suffered another
blow at the start of 2018: now
his left foot was under siege.
“I went to bed one Friday
night, feeling a bit ‘off ’, and by
Saturday morning my little toe
was completely black. Over the
next two weeks, I had multiple
surgeries, losing all my toes on
that foot and eventually having
to have the entire top section
of my left foot removed. I was
incredibly lucky not to lose my
lower leg, but it hit me hard,
and not just physically. That’s
the thing about amputations.
“I couldn’t work, we nearly
lost the house and it took a
full year until I could even
put weight on my left foot or
submerge it in water, because
the wound took so long to heal
thanks to the complications
of being a diabetic.
“You might think losing a few
toes is nothing to worry about,
but until you’ve experienced it,
you can’t understand. Apart
from anything else, I’ve fallen
over that many times, it’s
unbelievable.”
The majority of diabetes-related
amputations – including Rod’s- are preceded by foot sores or
ulcers. “The problem was I’d lost
most of the feeling in my feet, so
by the time I knew something
was up, it was too late,” he says.
Amy Rush, an accredited
practicing dietitian and WA’s
2018 Credentialled Diabetes
Educator of the Year, says that’s
a common story. “Two common
complications of diabetes –
peripheral neuropathy, which
is damage to the nerves, and
peripheral arterial disease, where
the arteries narrow and reduce
blood flow to the limbs – impact
both a person’s ability to detect
any trauma to the foot, and the
body’s ability to heal it,” she says.
“Left unnoticed and therefore
untreated, the trauma can then
develop into a foot ulcer or
infection, and if that’s left too
long, an amputation may be
the only option.”
Rush says on top of not being
able to feel a wound in the early
stages, a lack of understanding
about how real the risk of
amputation is also plays a role.
“People are often blindsided by
how rapidly the progression
from wound to amputation can
occur,” she says. “The level of
urgency isn’t elevated in their
minds, which may be due to
a lack of knowledge around
the causes of diabetes-related
amputations, or the idea that
it won’t happen to them.”
Something else most people
probably don’t know is the same
ulcers that can bring amputation
can even be fatal. According
to Diabetes Australia, patients
with diabetic foot ulcers have
morbidity and mortality rates
on par with aggressive cancers.On the road to amputation
diabetic living JULY/AUGUST 2019 103