Open to all advice
Hi everyone, I'm new to Reddit but have been lurking. Please let me know if I did something wrong or need to fix something.
I'm 33M and am currently recovering from my 9th surgery on my left foot. When I was 18, my ankle swelled and was super painful and I ended up in the ER. They couldn't find a cause for the pain, but sent me to come back daily for IV antibiotics. Swelling got worse over the next few days, went back for a joint aspiration. Nothing showed up so they stopped the antibiotics instead of finishing them, so when it turns out there was an infection, it became a superbug. Foot swelled up huge and a giant blister showed up covering the top of my foot. The doc thought it ass necrotizing fasciitis (flesh eating bacteria) and sent me straight to surgery. When I woke up, they had taken out all the infected tissue/muscle/tendon. It was not flesh eating bacteria (thank god) but damage was still done.
I spent the next 3 weeks in the hospital recovering and the following 3 months with a wound vac and eventual skin graft. This left me with drop foot and pain. I was given an AFO for the foot drop and sent on my way. I let it be for years but I couldn't shake the pain and more importantly, my mobility was affected and I stopped doing the outdoor things I loved. I had another 2 surgeries afterward for subsequent infections.
I had a triple arthrodesis 8 years ago when that surgeon said it would help give mobility back. All it mostly did was create an arch in my foot I didn't have before. I gave up again until this past year when my fiancée encouraged me to see another specialist to see if there was anything they can do. I am a surgical tech so I spend 10+ hours on my feet but the mobility and pain have become too much. This specialist said I had arthritis and decided a midfoot fusion should help with some pain. I had this done and the incision opened up and got infected so that set back healing a bit.
I'm just looking for anyone's personal opinion on when did they decide enough was enough? I'm 33, I know I'm young. I just want to be able to get around, do things I love again, chase my nieces and nephews around. How do you know when to just accept what you got? Or move on to more aggressive and permanent treatments?
I know everyone is different and their experiences are different, but I'm open to any and all stories/advice/ etc. If you made it this far, thanks for reading!