2456. Monologue on the phone

Oh Mildred, It is such a delight that Yvonne survived her operation. I believe it was touch and go for a while. Having diabetes and needing both legs amputated was a frightening prospect. And to think she survived the operation and is making wonderful progress in her wheel chair. When is she going to get her prosthetic legs do you know?

You don’t know? You what? It wasn’t Yvonne? But I thought…

Yvonne passed away? She never had her operation? I am so sorry to hear that. So whose legs did they cut off?

I didn’t know she had an identical twin sister.

2172. Amputation

It took some convincing but Angelina finally consented to have her leg amputated. The doctor had said “Leave it on and you die; cut it off and you live”. So after much thought, and quite a bit of almost unbearable pain, Angelina gave her consent.

It was just a shame they cut off the wrong leg.

1781. Cut off from the world

It was almost impossible to imagine. Stella was in shock. She never dreamt it could or would happen to her, but it had. She didn’t believe it. Would she ever get used to it?

For fourteen years Stella had got around in a wheelchair. Fourteen years ago they had amputated her left leg below the knee. She had asked again and again for an artificial leg. Too expensive. No insurance. And so the wheelchair became her sole means of travel. Once in a while, with the aid of a crutch she would stand on one leg. But taking a walk was out of the question as Stella found it too tiring. Her upper body was too weak.

And then the impossible happened. Who could ever have guessed? This is happening to me, muttered Stella. Happening to me?

Yes, it was true. This was no rich benefactor making a generous appearance. This was no sudden successful raffle drawn for a prosthetic leg. It was less spectacular than that, but shocking nonetheless. The doctor told Stella they were going to amputate the other leg.

1669. Crossing the river

When the specialist told Gladys that her left leg would have to be amputated, she wasn’t at all pleased. “It’s gangrene,” said the doctor. “It’s gangrene in the toes. There’s no other way for survival than amputation.”

Golly gosh! Gladys was struck dumb. She’d had that leg all her life, she said. And then she laughed. What a silly thing to have said! “Well doctor, you probably don’t realize but I’ve had these legs all my life.”

Somehow the absurdity of her reaction diffused the shock a little. “And when doctor will this happen?”

“This afternoon,” said the doctor. “The sooner the better.”

“But I’ve got my car parked in the hospital car park,” said Gladys, as if that was a reason to forego immediate amputation. Somehow Gladys had imagined that she would get a month or so at home pottering in the garden and doing this and that before being rendered half-legless. It was not to be. The afternoon came and went. Gladys’s leg went too.

All that was two years ago. These days she’s back at home as happy as a sand-boy. Some things are a bit tricky for her to do, but as Gladys said to her doctor: Sometimes you have to swim the alligator-infested river to get to the safety of the other side.

1418. Amputation

Annie suddenly noticed an ulcer on her leg. It wasn’t sore. She wondered how long it had been there.

She went to the doctor who gave her medication. The ulcer got worse. It hurt.

“I’m sorry,” said the doctor, “but you’ll have to have your leg amputated.”

“Over my dead body,” said Annie.

“It’s either amputation or death. There aren’t any other options.”

“Oh,” said Annie. “Naturally I choose cutting the leg off.”

She may as well have kept her leg on for all the good it did. They buried her next to her husband.