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I was struck by a speeding motorbike while I was on my bike at around 3:30 PM, 2080
Ashoj 9. It took me a minute to realize that my right leg was severely injured after the
collision and was carried to the nearest hospital, where I underwent a surgery overnight.
I was treated with an external fixator to stabilize the leg position. Next day, I was airlifted
to B & B Hospital, Lalitpur for further treatment.
In non-medical terms, I had 2 out of 3 arteries carrying blood to my leg destroyed,
remaining 1 artery exposed and most importantly more than 15cm of bone lost from
lower right leg main weight bearing bone. I was cut out of mobility and things stopped or slowed around me.
Top Specialists and consultant doctors were involved in the case. For the first week, it
was almost like whether my leg would be able to be salvaged or not, but doctors
decided to go with the Ilizarov fixator technique for recovery of my leg. It was a very
time-consuming procedure in itself, but was almost the only way that could be done.
The nature of my injury made it even worse, with risks of infections in an open wound,
only a remaining artery on the way to carry out complex surgeries, and a very small
bone area to apply the fixator being few of many challenges.
For 31 days there were surgeries, debridement, and explorations every second day, and
one of them lasting almost 8 hours as I remember. After 31 days, I was discharged from
the hospital but needed to stay somewhere near for weekly visits. It was just the start of
the treatment as I later went on further surgeries for Corticotomy, Removal of Impinged
tissue, malalignment fixing, and whatever else might be needed.
It’s obvious how a doctor can influence the recovery of a patient. Mine was no different
at all. Luckily, I was assigned to good hands of Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon Dr.
Satish Prasad Barnawal and his team. Furthermore, Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
Team in B and B Hospital also had done a significant share of work during the earlier
stage of treatment.
Dr. Barnawal has been since the beginning to the present day of the treatment. He has
been very communicative and responsive to all my queries and issues both in-person
and via social media like WhatsApp. It was clear from the beginning of diagnosis that
what I had was a big issue, but I was motivated and supported every time I visited. As a
layman, I will not know which treatment plan or which procedure will be effective. But
what I knew is I needed to trust doctors’ instinct and ability. It was exhausting and I was
hopeful every time I visited the doctor to hear improvements and suggestions.
Throughout the process I was always encouraged to stay on track of my work or studies
in ways I could.
As I am writing this, I am in the 18 th month of the treatment. With about 20+ Operation
theatre visits, Numerous consulting and follow-ups, I can walk on my own as of now.
The fixator is still in my leg but I have completed the regrowth of 15 plus cm bone and
it’s now in the verge of union with its distal part. The wounds are healed except for the
fixator pin sites, but the scars are staying there. I was first allowed to do toe touch
movement with crutches, followed by body weight bearing with crutches and then
without crutches. I have to clean the pin sites and fixators regularly to this day. I keep on
updating the doctor about any issue or progress, patiently waiting to hear his summons
and suggesting to remove the fixator.
The experience was horrible to be honest, but the best thing about life is you learn to
live with it. It was one rollercoaster ride of emotions, too many loops, highs, lows, and a
long time. From emotional breakdown, blaming myself for everything that was
happening to me, wondering what I did to deserve this. Thinking of all the
inconvenience I caused to people around me and looking at the day I would be doing
things myself. I remember a day crying with my friend to cut off the injured leg instead of
going through it all. A quotation I read during studying about my treatment, “Its better to
be a day late than a day early.” Sure doesn’t sound good when you are on the side who
is waiting, but I have learnt a lot about my patience during the time. Luckily, I had my
friend and family who had my back to cover up for me professionally and socially. There
is no way possible to acknowledge what they had done for me, it was a lot more than
just help. Apart from the lead doctors, all other doctors that consulted, nurses and
sisters, the Operation theater staff, whom I couldn’t thank because I was too high on
anesthesia.
