A woman who was just having a great time at a Christmas party has ended up injuring herself in a terrible accident.
Lorraine Burnett danced until 2am on the night of her festive shindig
Lorraine Burnett, a 37-year-old mum had to get her leg amputated after too much fun at her festive do.
According to Daily Star UK, Lorraine Burnett lost her leg because
of a blister caused by too much dancing in her Christmas party shoes.
The 37-year-old from Scotland had no idea that when she bought a new pair of heels she’d end up losing a limb.
But after almost two years of repeated infections on her heel, she
was given the devastating news that her lower left leg would need to be
amputated.
Now she is bravely speaking out about her experience for the first
time – and says all she wants for Christmas is a new leg to replace the
standard prosthetic issued by the NHS.
Lorraine said: “A new leg would mean a new life for me. I’d stayed out dancing until the early hours, so thought nothing of achy feet.
“But then two years later I was having my leg removed. It breaks my heart to think my five inch heels cost me my leg.”
Staying out until 2am on the pub crawl around Dunfermline, the
petite care assistant thought her sore feet and bad blister were caused
by bopping all night in new shoes.
Lorraine said: “The next day, there was a big red blister on my
left leg. Being a carer, I knew what I needed to do – just clean it and
dress it.
“But after a week, it was so painful so I went to the doctors and was prescribed antibiotics.
“I really thought they would help as it just seemed like a bad wound.”
A week after the blister first appeared on her left heel, which was
back in December 2008, the mum-of-one visited her doctor after it
became so painful she could barely walk.
She was prescribed antibiotics and fell into a routine of regularly
cleaning the wound, hoping the tablets would clear up the infection.
But tragically, the blister didn’t heal and soon she couldn’t even walk properly and had to cut back on her duties at work.
She was referred to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee for further treatment.
Lorraine said: “I’d had infection after infection so medics said they would debride the wound, by removing the contaminated skin.”
But then she faced a devastating decision – endure repeated infections for the rest of her life or have her lower leg removed.
Medics recommended amputation and, in November 2010, she had the five-hour surgery to remove her limb.
Lorraine continued: “I had to give up my job, which was heartbreaking.
"I couldn’t believe how much my life has changed over a couple of years. I’d
gone from someone who liked to go out all the time – a real party girl
who enjoyed the good life – to pretty completely housebound.”
Lorraine believes her Type 2 diabetes was behind the infection which caused her leg to be amputated.
Complications with the condition include nerve damage and poor
blood circulation which can make it hard to notice when the feet are
damaged.
As well as the slower healing experienced by diabetes sufferers,
problems like broken skin or an ulcer can go undetected and become so
serious that amputation is needed.
Those with diabetes are up to 30 times more likely to have an
amputation because of the way the disease affects the circulation of
blood to the extremities.
Lorraine also suffers with painful, and sometimes infected, ulcers
from her prosthetic as well as kidney disease, which is a complication
of Type 2 diabetes.
She was even put into an induced coma in 2014 because of an infection on her stump. She is now on dialysis too.
These days, Lorraine lives with her 17-year-old daughter Megan but
she’s desperate to replace her NHS prosthetic leg with a new, more
expensive one.
She added: “A new prosthetic would mean I would look more like a lady again, not having to hide it.
“I can’t show my leg off and feel like myself. Having another prosthetic would be the most amazing Christmas present.
“Who knows, I might even be able to wear heels again.”
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