Amputee

A local woman discovers she suffers from a circulatory deficiency. Soon after that disc...  More »

A local woman discovers she suffers from a circulatory deficiency. Soon after that discovery, she opts to have her leg amputated... Today, she lives life as an amputee. But, as she tells reporter Kate Schell, she does not let that define who she is. It began with a case of the unknown. (Jackie Benz/Amputee) andamp;quot;I had bone exposure on the big toe, the top of my foot was completely eaten away. For close to two years, Jackie Benz was in and out of hospitals trying to figure out what was causing her so much pain.... (Jackie Benz/Amputee)andamp;quot;He said that my blood vessels in my foot were, they were closed off. I was not getting the blood and oxygen down there. So my foot was dying. Doctors finally diagnosed her with Buerger's diease back in 2006. She says they told her, it was probably caused from smoking... (Jackie Benz/Amputee)andamp;quot;There are over a thousand different chemicals in one little cigarette. So I'm a smoker of 4 or 5 cigarettes of how many years and it caught up with me... After living with such unbearable pain, Jackie had enough. It was her, who decided, to have her leg amputated... (Jackie Benz/Amputee)andamp;quot;I was like great when do we do it? A day after the amputation, she was fitted for a prosthetic limb. (Nate McKenzie/MedEquip One) andamp;quot;She is in her third socket and we probably went about 4 months from the 1st socket and a little bit longer on the second one and we're on to the third one. (Jackie Benz/Amputee) andamp;quot;I wasn't embarrassed by it at all. i was proud becuase i had nothing to be embarrassed by. i didnt do anything. I believed in my heart, things happen for a reason, I wasn't depressed about it. Even through the whole thing I wasn't depressed, I thought things happen and it was such a huge learning experience for me. Even though, it hasn't been the easist of roads. Med-equip helped her with the transition. They were able to personalize her prosthetic leg...and boost her spirits. (Jackie Benz/Amputee)andamp;quot;It was probably one of the happiest moments of my life because even though I didnt have a leg, I had something that was still me, something that people could look at and go andamp;quot;Oh God that's Jackieandamp;quot; Jackie says she can do everything now that she could do before the amputee. She can run, fish and hunt. She plans on going snowboarding and hopes to to give rollerblading a try. With KX News, Im Kate Schell. According to the Mayo Clinic, Buerger's disease is rare in the United States. They say it is more common in the Middle East and Far East. The disease usually affects men between ages 20 and 40, although it's becoming more common in women.  « Less