Soon, I’ll be going on a family vacation where we’ll be staying at a resort with a pretty sizable water park.

My first prosthetic that I had last year was a suction sleeve and my prosthetist told me that I could use it on the beach, in the pool, etc., as long as rinsed and washed it with fresh water thoroughly as soon as possible. He said it might not necessarily be comfortable as it could get water-logged and feel heavy, but nothing to worry about as far as damage to the actual prosthetic as long as I cleaned/washed it.

Fast forward to present day, I’m on my second prosthetic but this time it’s a pin-lock. I had asked my new prosthetist about the water park and assumed it was the same thing as far as getting it wet and submerging it as long as I washed and cleaned with fresh water. She was very hesitant about it.

She said if my original prosthetist said it was okay with my ankle/foot it get it wet as long as I cleaned, it should be fine as I haven’t changed out any of those parts. However, she was quite hesitant when it came to the pin-lock part. She offered the suggestion of a “new” or second leg with waterproof parts and liners; but insurance won’t cover it; as there’s no record of me “needing” a new one and now there just isn’t time to get stuff from my doctors and have one made in time. She suggested using Saran Wrap type stuff over my liner, but admitted that she didn’t know if they would stick or even help that much. She basically said it’s better to just submerge it and just “wade” in ankle deep water and clean it ASAP.

Long story short; anyone have tips or experiences with your prosthetic and water parks to avoid damage?

Hi everyone — I'm part of a prosthetics and orthotics company, and I'd really like to learn from people who actually use prostheses in everyday life.

We spend a lot of time looking at technical specifications and product requirements, but those don't always tell us what it's actually like to use a prosthesis all day.

So I'm curious:

If you could change one thing about your current prosthesis, what would it be?

It could be anything — comfort, socket fit, sweating, liners, suspension, weight, durability, noise, walking on uneven ground, stairs, slopes, sitting down, getting up, maintenance, adjustment, or something completely different.

And if there's a problem that manufacturers seem to overlook, we'd especially like to hear about it.

I'm not looking to sell anything here. I'm genuinely interested in understanding the everyday issues users encounter so that we can take that feedback into account when developing products and educational materials.

Feel free to be critical — negative experiences are just as useful to us as positive ones.

What is the one thing you'd change?

I’ve seen so many people who use their amputations as a scale of whose life is harder. I’m over here trying to be the best I can be and yet so many are the exact opposite. LBK for 2.5 years now and I don’t get it.

I’ve been lurking in this group off and on for about a year now. I am not currently an amputee, but am weighing the trade offs of going with an elective LBKA, and if so, am trying to figure out what would be considered “the right time” to get one.

Those who opted for an amputation after chronic mobility issues and pain, when did you take that step?

Context of my story:
I am just shy of 10 year in on my journey with a locally aggressive bone tumor (Giant Cell Tumor of Bone) in my left talus. It’s an intermediate bone tumor that eats the bone from the inside, and considered benign in most cases (no malignant transformation at this time in my case). I am Canadian, and the medical system took so long for me to see an orthopaedic surgeon that the tumor had breeched out of my talus and into my subtalar joint. My first tumor was about 5 cm in diameter. I now been through 3 surgeries- all curettage with bone grafting, from either recurrent tumors or bone cysts. My last surgery was January of this year. My current surgeon and I aren’t confident that my ankle will hold up long term, and believe that my joints or bone will probably force a “radical solution) at some point. The paths we can can see are: talus replacement with cadaver bone with a full ankle fusion, a custom prosthetic talus (helps the bone part, but not joints or scar tissue), and a BKA.

My next appointment with him is in September, to review the results of my upcoming MRI. I am going to ask for a referral to the Amputation Clinic at the hospital, which offer consults for folks who are debating about opting for one.

I am leaning towards a BKA, for the sake of a new chapter after 10 years of planning my life (wedding, kids, moving) around my ankle and always wondering when the next decline will be. I currently have okay mobility- I can take my toddlers for the zoo for a few hours, can run a modest amount, but don’t have full range of motion by any means. I currently have some pain every day, but can usually ignore it because I’ve had worse ankle phases. I also dream of more for myself than a bum ankle and constant worries and MRIs, and am aware of some limitations that come with a BKA.

I am weighing choosing to go the BKA route sooner rather than later, and focusing on recovery, and moving on with a new normal, but am worried about jumping the gun. I know that being “ready” will never truly come, but is there a sweet spot with this decision? I don’t want to keep having my life dictated by always worrying about my ankle getting worse again, since there has been little stability in that, and lots of anxiety with life choices because of it.

Those of you that opted for an elective amputation- what was the point that you got to that made you take that leap of faith? Any advice is welcome.

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!

For context I was abused (beaten with a belt) as a child, had horrible parents and lost a leg at 22 Years old. I'm 45 now, after years of being stared at in public. Walking into rooms only to find everyone fall silent, staring at my legs. Not to mention strangers walking up and asking "howd you lose that leg?" Plus all the crazy people are drawn to me for some reason. When the pandemic hit, I was actually happy about the isolation. I had an excuse. The pandemic is long over, but the habit stuck. Now the only time I see people is when there are missionaries trying to conn me into going to their church. I want friends, not opportunists. That's all I seem to get. People want to use me for social clout, or "help" me. They even go so far as to force it onto me. I don't need help, I've lived with 1 leg for half my life (more than 22 years as an amputee). This does not stop them, I hate pity, these scumbags feel sorry for me. I feel sorry for anyone who joins a cult, I'm not buying. (LDS are so greedy and opportunistic).

I could use some advice on how and where to obtain some friends, I live in a small town in southern Utah (which is horrible BTW). I'm aware of my negativity, and realize it drives people away. I could also use some advice on how to tell potential friends from religious nuts and local conn artists. (They prey on the elderly and disabled here, it's St. George, UT. This is nothing new here.) I've had people here pose as friends only to try to drag me into their church or whatever. I was so crushed, I thought I made a friend. Nope.

I want to walk.

Back on December 25, 2025, I got into an accident. As a result, I suffered a shattered left femur, which was fixed with an IM rod. My right leg, however, was damaged beyond repair. The knee was dislocated and crushed, and my foot was mangled. They told us there was no point in trying to save anything below the knee because of the fractured tibial condyles, popliteal artery damage, loss of the patellar tendon, fractured patella, damaged ligaments and meniscus, and destroyed skin and muscle around my shin and knee.

But my dad couldn't bring himself to agree to an amputation. He asked them to please try limb salvage.

They amputated the forefoot, put on an external fixator, and performed skin grafts. After four months, I started physiotherapy to try to regain some range of motion. I also had an infection in my ankle at one point.

Now, after eight months, I went to a reputed hospital that specializes in complex reconstructions. They told me that the case is so complex that they could throw all their medical degrees at the problem and still wouldn't be able to make me walk normally.

Their initial plan was to convert the Chopart amputation into a BKA and perform a knee reconstruction. But after doing an MRI, they said that trying to reconstruct the knee would be wishful thinking. They told me I'd have a better quality of life with either an AKA or a knee disarticulation, since the Chopart isn't functional enough anyway, and a BKA with a poor biological knee wouldn't make much sense.

I agree. I want to walk. Normally. With a normal gait. Without a limp. Without pain. After almost a year of this, I just want to be able to walk again.

But I can't help thinking about how much I'll miss having this leg. I've had it for 24 years, and now this.

I keep thinking about how active I was before all of this. I used to spend two hours at the gym every day because I was on a weight-loss journey. I lost 25 kg in six months, built muscle, hit 10,000 steps every day, and went swimming every day as well. I was doing well. I hit my protein goals, rode a beautiful bike, and was lowkey proud of myself.

And all of these negative feelings are made worse by the fact that I blame myself for being in this situation. I was riding at 150 km/h and hit a roundabout. It was my fault.

I really don't know how my life can get better anymore. I don't know if I'll enjoy doing the things I used to do or the things I had hoped to do. I don't know if I'll even be able to do them.

So I guess I want to ask this of whoever has made it to the end of this post...

How do I cope?

How do I feel happy again, especially when I blame myself for all of this?

Does this ever become normal?

Can I still be physically active and live a somewhat happy life?

Can my gait ever become natural or seamless enough that a passerby won't look twice?

I don't expect anyone to have all the answers. I think I just need to hear from people who have been through something similar and found a way to build a life they genuinely enjoy again.

I’m pretty new to posting on Reddit, so sorry if I get anything wrong.

A little over a week ago I (21M) found out that I have a roughly large-pea-sized tumor in the tip of my left middle finger. It seems like it is almost definitely not cancer (yay), but it ate away at so much of the bone that the surgeon is recommending amputation at the distal joint of that finger (bc there is so little bone left intact and bc I have a 10% chance of the tumor coming back if I have other surgeries to try to keep it). It is my dominant hand, so I’m a little stressed, and honestly a little sad.

I am in college, and the semester is going to start about a week before my surgery date. I have a lot of worries. Will I be able to move my finger? Will I be able to write/take notes? Will it hurt really bad?

Has anyone else had a situation like this? Does anyone have any advice or reassurance?

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Hi everyone! 38F, lost my left leg at the hip due to cancer 20 years ago. Due to diabetes and neuropathy that lead to many issues in my right leg, doctors recently told me they will need to amputate my leg at least below the knee. I'm so devastated and depressed to lose that independence i was able to get after my limb loss.