UNDIFFERENTIATED PLEOMORPHIC SARCOMA (UPS) TO BKA.
This whole ordeal started about fifteen years ago +/- five years. I kept going to my PCM for a knot (size of a quarter) on my right leg about 6 inches above the ankle. The PCM kept saying if it was not bleeding and or infected, they would not do anything and by this time it had grown to the size of a tennis ball. Then just last year, in mid-July 2023, I got a scratch and it started bleeding badly. By the time I got to the emergency clinic, it had soaked the bandages. The doctors sent me to see the general surgeon for a biopsy, The doctor said it would take about fourteen days for the results. Three days later I got a call from the clinic that the results came back inconclusive and the doctor said that another doctor from the orthopedic clinic was coming to see it and do another biopsy (five total). The doctor said to go to his clinic and wait for the results and that he kind of knows what it is. Turns out it was called UPS (Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma). Dr. Lybeck from BAMC said it was the second rarest in the country.
Then the fun began. I started five weeks of radiation every day except Saturday, Sunday, and Federal holidays all the way to the second week of October where I waited for two weeks before the surgery to remove the cancer cells and some tissue. The surgery team put in a substance called Integra (shark bone and cow tissue) (see Photo 1 below). I had rehab to walk again, then one week per month I went back to the hospital because of an infection until February 1st. I spent 2 weeks in the hospital, got out and moved into a one-bedroom apartment. All this time I lived in a cargo van outfitted with a bed and a small space to cook. I loved it. No rent. Then I ended up back in the hospital in April with another infection but this one was really bad. I had somehow gotten infected with MRSA. Several doctors came to tell me it was time to really consider amputation due to the amount of tissue infected and possibly in the bone as well, So I told them I was ready the next week and I think they were about to pass out from shock as I had been fighting the decision since September 2023. A week and a half later I got the BKA just below the knee about 5 inches.
I was scared as hell and a couple times I thought of ending my life, but talking with some other veterans about what they had endured helped guide me to where I am today, I had no family support at first, but then my aunt & uncle started helping me get to my appointments. They are there for me and have helped. I am a veteran and started getting appointments with the VA (Veterans Administration). I had an appointment with the prosthetics lab at Audie Murphy Veterans Hospital but that was a total letdown. They said before they would treat me I had to lose 100 pounds and hop 30 feet on my own before they would start the process of a prosthetic leg. I went back to BAMC to see the doctor who was treating me and told him what happened at the VA. He told me that he could get me a referral to Hanger Clinic. Their help is so much better for me and they explain everything in a way that I feel better about. Since my leg is still healing and has a small scab left on it, they have given me three shrinker-type stockings that are working really well. I am hoping to get the prosthetic leg by October 2024 or at least get the fit right. I do not care much for a foot. I would rather have a round type of pad just to be able to walk again or at least try. The VA Prosthetic Lab is supposed to get me a rubber type of protective sleeve to protect my stump, but they have yet to contact me.
Warning! Graphic image may be disturbing to some viewers. Click here to view Photo 1.