Northampton woman makes difficult decision to have leg amputated after eight years of crutches, operations and severe pain

A grandmother who has spent nearly eight years walking on crutches has made the difficult decision to have her leg amputated.

Clare Watts, who lives in Wootton, fractured her foot back in 2012 - an injury that is not often life-changing.

But after not knowing exactly what caused the fracture, spending 12 weeks in different casts and starting physiotherapy, the 49-year-old’s foot was still causing her issues.

Clare said: “When I came out of my cast it didn’t feel right. It felt weird and was very painful.

“I had never fractured or broken a bone so I thought it might be normal.”

After about three weeks of physiotherapy, the mum-of-one was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), which is a condition where a person experiences persistent, severe and long-lasting pain, usually triggered by an injury.

Since the diagnosis more than eight years ago, Clare, who lives with her husband, has had to completely adapt her life.

She added: “I had never heard of it and didn’t know what it was. It has massively affected my life.

“We had to move from a two-storey townhouse because I couldn’t manage all the stairs and in 2018 I had to get a stairlift installed.

“I have not been able to work due to the pain. I was a nanny when I first did this and I now can’t do the job I have always done.

“It’s had a massive impact on my self worth too. It has been an upheaval and a huge thing to come to terms with.

"The main issue for me was that I couldn’t stand or walk on my leg. I’ve spent seven-and-a-half years on crutches.

“But I’m an upbeat and positive person and I always have been and there are a lot of people worse off than me.”

In an attempt to combat the condition, Clare had a Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) spinal cord simulator fitted in May 2014. The simulator should focus electrical stimulation of nerves to reduce pain.

However, several problems occurred with the simulator so Clare had to undergo numerous operations in the hope they would correct the issues.

During the time Clare was in and out of hospital while having operations she contracted an infection.

“It took hold of me and I was very poorly. I was told to go straight to A&E,” Clare said.

“I spent 24 days in hospital.”

Not out of the woods, Clare went on to suffer with a chest infection and pneumonia. She believes the DRG may have lowered her immune system.

The simulator that was supposed to be reducing Clare’s pain was compromised by the infection so in April 2017, after seven operations to try and get it right, the DRG was removed.

Clare was told that amputation was a possibility, but that she would have to wait until she had fully recovered from her operation.

By this time her CRPS had spread to her left arm and as if Clare had not got enough on her plate, while she waited to be well enough for an amputation, she was found to have high levels of a hormone linked to cervical cancer.

In March 2019, she had to go under the knife again for a hysterectomy.

It has only been recently, after a series of falls one of which saw her admitted to A&E, that Clare has revisited the idea of an amputation.

Both her GP and the consultant she was referred to agreed it was a good decision, but it was not one Clare made lightly.

She said: “It (CPRS) will always be there in my arm but it will be manageable on medication. By taking away the leg I’m hoping it will give me a better quality of life.

“When the consultant mentioned amputation to me three or four years ago I was horrified and thought ‘surely you can do something else’.

“But as time has gone by and not being able to walk and after so many falls, you weigh up quality of life and then amputation doesn’t seem so scary.

“I could be walking around on two legs in not too long and my quality of life will be much better. If I do not gamble I will never know.

“I got my head round it and and started to think that it could actually be a positive rather than a negative. It has to be more positive than it is now.”

It was Clare’s four-year-old granddaughter, Niamh, who really helped her to make such a huge decision.

Clare added: “My granddaughter said to me ‘when you have your leg chopped off nanny and it gets better and you'll get your new leg I’ll be able to hold your hand whilst we go out, instead of holding your sticks’.

“She has only just turned four so she has never known any different.

“I want to do that before she is too old. And if that’s not motivation I don’t know what is.”

Clare has an appointment in April to discuss the operation and is hopeful the amputation will take place within three months, but if not, within six months.

Once the amputation is complete, Clare hopes to be suitable for a prosthetic leg,.

But there will be a period of time before she will be able to get the leg and regain a form of ‘normal life’ where she will be able to walk and spend quality time with family.

In this time she will need a motorised wheelchair to keep her independence, so Clare has started fundraising.

Clare said: “I want to be able to maintain independence and get out and about.

“I won’t be able to use a self-propel chair due to my CRPS in her arm and my sticks will be too dangerous, but I don’t want to rely on other people.”

To buy the wheelchair, Clare needs to raise £2,300. After setting up a fundraising page last week, she has already raised more than £1,500.

She added: “It has been incredible and I can’t believe the amount of support.”

As long as Clare is eligible for a prosthetic leg, she will sell the wheelchair once she has finished with it. She will then donate the money to charities that have supported her.

Any additional money raised will also go to the charities, namely CRPS UK and Jo’s Odd Shoes.

To donate to Clare’s wheelchair, visit her JustGiving page.