Greetings readers, welcome back to my blog. Hope all is well and that you and your family are safe in these troubling times. I asked about your family because to me, family is important. We may not always see eye to eye but when serious matters occur, they band together regardless of past discrepancies. 

 We`re at Sangre Grande General Hospital and I had spent the greater part of the morning with my mother at the men`s ward awaiting a doctor. I was reviewed and sent back home to continue treatment as an outpatient with a referral letter to return Wednesday.  

 Wednesday came and there was little change in my condition. From a little below my knees down were completely numb and still cold to the touch. Moving my toes was now extremely difficult not to mention very painful. Again, my family had to carry me during our travels to the hospital. We spent the day there and when my mom grew tired of my soft moans and waiting, she approached counter, expressing her displeasure. She spoke loud enough to be heard but not to be seen as rowdy, explaining our situation and questioned why it was taking so long for a doctor to see me. 

 A doctor came forward, apologized and asked to see me. After examining me and running a few tests, she called another doctor for a second opinion. They ran another trial of the same tests and asked how long I was experiencing this as the results were very alarming. They requested a surgeon to examine me and ran new tests. When the results came in, they admitted me to a ward immediately, stating that they couldn`t believe I was sent home multiple times with such frightening results. By now it was evident that something was clogging the blood vessels in my feet as there was no pulse in my legs and the fact, that they were cold, were signs of lack of blood flow which would result in necrosis. The diagnosis was again, Peripheral Arterial Disease.  

 I spent four days warded at the Sangre Grande Hospital. During that time, I was administered Heparin, a blood thinner and Morphine, an opioid pain medication every four hours. But despite the meds my condition grew worse and I was soon transferred to Mt Hope General Hospital, as there were no vascular surgeons at Sangre Grande and they had done all that they could. 

 At Mt Hope, they ran more tests and I was re-diagnosed with Vasculitis, a rare disorder that causes inflammation in the blood vessels. This was very peculiar as the disorder itself is rare and even rarer in someone as young as myself. The medication administered to me was slightly altered with the inclusion in Pethidine, a synthetic opioid pain medication as Morphine was highly addictive. After a few days at Mt Hope, I was informed that they would have to amputate my legs, as my legs were now dying. All the pain I felt was from my body forcibly pumping blood through tiny spaces due to inflammation and as the cells and tissues in my feet die, they could poison and affect my organs. To monitor my condition until amputation, I had to give several blood samples every six hours. 

 The news was unbearable, that night I cried and asked my mother if she would allow them to end my life then and there. As a dancer and someone whose sporting/physically active, my legs were essential to do what I do and as a person, removing a part of my body didn’t sit well with me at all. Though my family and friends tried to comfort me whenever they visited, I could tell that they too were devastated at how things had turned out. Within a couple days my entire life had and would continue change.  

 Thank you for reading this post, it means a lot to have the opportunity to share my story. Please be advised to the pictures of my legs before and after amputation as the material may be graphic to sensitive viewers.