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Lorraine Burnett, 37, had been so excited about one of her upcoming Christmas parties – a pub crawl around town – that she went out to get a new pair of heels to celebrate the occasion.
Of course, wearing brand new shoes for a long party – with dancing – is a recipe for disaster and many blisters.
The next morning, when she checked her feet, “there was a big red blister on [her] left leg.”
Burnett wasn’t too concerned at first. “Being a carer, I knew what I needed to do – just clean it and dress it," she said. "But after a week, it was so painful so I went to the doctors and was prescribed antibiotics. I really thought they would help as it just seemed like a bad wound."
But the antibiotics didn’t do anything. The blister remained as large as it had been, causing Burnett difficulty walking and forcing her to cut back on work.
Over time, as the blister continued to persist, Burnett returned to the hospital where doctors removed contaminated skin to no avail. The wound would only become re-infected.
After two years of this, doctors gave her their final ultimatum: Burnett would either have to suffer from these infections for the rest of her life – or she could get her leg removed.
Burnett couldn’t believe what she’d been told, “I'd stayed out dancing until the early hours [before], so thought nothing of achy feet. But then two years later I was having my leg removed.”
Ultimately, she opted to have her lower left leg removed in a five-hour surgery. The change forced her to move back home with her family, give up her job, and change her life completely. “I couldn't believe how much my life has changed over a couple of years,” she said sadly.
Burnett has, thankfully, regained the ability to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg, but she is hoping to raise enough money to fund for a more realistic looking one.
"A new prosthetic would mean I would look more like a lady again, not having to hide it.” She added, "I can't show my leg off and feel like myself. A new leg would mean a new life for me."
