Mum loses a limb after SHAVING her legs – when tiny cut on her shin gets infected and spreads
WHEN Tanya Czernozukow cut her leg shaving, she thought nothing of it.
She ignored the tiny nick on her right shin when it turned into a scab the size of a 5p coin.
But six months later, it had tripled in size leaving a huge, gaping hole in her leg.
Doctors diagnosed the 43-year-old with diabetes and a chronic leg ulcer that became gangrenous, which looked like a “flesh-eating bug” and spent 18 months trying to stop the aggressive infection spreading up her thigh.
They tried drugs, creams and even maggots to try and beat the infection.
But after months living in agony, Tanya agreed to have her right leg amputated above the knee.
The op stopped the infection in its tracks, and Tanya said she’s now pain free and looking forward to getting on with her life.
The mum, from Breaston, Derbys, said: “It has been an absolute nightmare.
“It was just a little nick. I just went ‘ouch’ and thought nothing of it.
“I’ve done it a thousands times before so I just put a bit of tissue on it and expected it to stop bleeding.”
Her ordeal began in April 2014, when she shaved her legs and nicked her shin.
Despite being left with a scab, Tanya refused to see a GP.
“I was like, ‘yeah, yeah’ but didn’t. I had never had any other health problem.”
It was just a little nick. I just went ‘ouch’ and thought nothing of it
Tanya Czernozukow
But within a week, Tanya was in agony, and it became so unbearable she went to A&E, where doctors admitted her for five days.
They told the 43-year-old she had a nasty leg ulcer, and put her on strong antibiotics.
“I’ve never felt pain like that in my life,” she said.
The infection was so bad, Tanya was forced to quit her job as a sales rep.
She was back and forth to hospital for various treatments, including biotherapy, where medicinal maggots were used to clean the wounds, eating the dead tissue.
But it didn’t work, and the infection continued to spread.
“For 24 hours I was screaming in agony,” Tanya said.
How does diabetes lead to leg ulcers?
PEOPLE diagnosed with diabetes have reduced nerve function.
It basically means the nerves that carry pain sensations from the legs to the brain stop working properly.
As a result, a tiny cut can become infected and diabetics are less likely to notice until it becomes really painful.
People with diabetes can also have narrowed arteries.
As a result blood flow is reduced, which means it can impair the leg’s ability to heal – making it harder for blood cells to reach the damaged area.
“By the third time I went into hospital, it covered my whole leg.
“It was just completely infected. It was too far gone. It was too little, too late.
“The pain was absolutely sheer hell.
“It looked like gangrene, or like I had a flesh-eating bug. It just kept growing and growing and growing.”
In April 2016, doctors at Nottingham’s Queen Medical Centre suggested taking the drastic step of amputating Tanya’s leg.
They diagnosed her with diabetes, and said the ulcer and infection was a result of the disease, which affects the nerves.
Medics warned without amputating her leg, it could take years for the wound to heal, but added there was no guarantee it ever would.
“I just said to them, ‘right, yes take it off. I want it gone’.”
When she came round from her op, Tanya said she “got one hell of a shock”.
She had just inches of her right leg left.
“It was just a complete and utter shock,” she admitted. “To see it gone was like waking up in a nightmare.”
For five months, Tanya stayed in hospital to recover and undergo rehabilitation.
She’s now hoping to have a prosthetic leg fitted, but said she is too scared to shave her remaining left leg.
She added: “I can’t believe I have actually got to this point. I have had to be strong. I would love to tell people that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“I don’t shave my other leg any more. It terrifies me.
“As strange as it sounds, I don’t regret the operation one bit.
“I am looking to go back to work. Mentally, I think I am pretty much almost there. That’s the next step in my life.
“I am getting a car, that’s going to be life-changing. Once I have got the car I will look into getting a prosthetic leg.”
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours