Seemingly overnight, the 20-something athlete with diabetes had both legs and an arm amputated.
Just three weeks prior he’d been on the beach playing high level volleyball. His stumps were raw; the amputations were very recent.
Just HOW can something so life-changing happen — especially to a young athlete?
So I asked a diabetes expert why in some patients, amputations can occur “overnight.”
“Typically, limbs don’t get amputated overnight unless there is some type of acute trauma,” says Alison Massey, MS, RD, LDN, registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator with over 10 years of experience in various community and clinical settings.
“Unfortunately, some of our patients with diabetes don’t manage it very well and develop complications that ultimately result in amputations.
“It is typically a process that happens over a period of time and is not sudden.
That is why we push for diabetes education and helping individuals manage their diabetes because if it is not managed well it can result in terrible complications.”
Infected sores in the feet can creep up on a diabetic, ultimately leading to the need for an amputation.
It’s mind boggling how these sores can sneak up on the patient, unnoticed – even though the patient may have what’s called diabetic neuropathy, which can mask the pain of any sores or wounds on the feet.
But must the patient FEEL the sores to know they’re there? What about visually checking their feet every day?
Here’s how infected sores can creep up on a diabetic and eventually lead to a need for a limb amputation.
Symptoms of Diabetes
Limbs don’t have to be cut off if you know the warning signs and, if diagnosed, practice good management of this disease.
Symptoms include excessive thirst, urination and hunger; unintentional weight loss; unexplained fatigue and blurry vision.
Thin people are not immune to type 2 diabetes, for which obesity is a major risk factor.
Alison Massey has been working in the field of nutrition since 2010 helping individuals make sustainable changes to improve their health.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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