UK Woman Wants Amputation After "Simple" Leg Scratch Leads To 55 Surgeries

A 40-year-old woman in the United Kingdom lost half of her thigh and endured 55 surgeries after a small scratch from a fishing line became infected. She is now begging doctors to remove her right leg altogether. "I'm sick of spending my life in (the) hospital," Michelle Milton said, as per the New York Post. 

The 40-year-old's ordeal began when she went out for a fishing trip with her brother in 2019. During the excursion, Ms Milton slipped on some rocks and a nylon fishing line that was in her pocket pierced her right thigh. Within days, what she called a "simple scratch" got infected, the outlet reported, and Ms Milton was rushed to the hospital when her leg swelled up. 

When doctors discovered that Ms Milton's wound was resistant to antibiotics, it triggered the first of 55 surgeries she would have for her infected leg. At first, the doctors were forced to cut into her thigh. Following this, she underwent skin grafts, wound irrigation and tissue removal. However, till now, nothing has stopped the infection from spreading. The 40-year-old has a gaping hole in her inner leg and she says she is highly resistant to antibiotics.

"I never thought a fishing line could cause so much damage," Ms Milton said, as per People. "Every day is filled with agony, and I've begged them to take it off. They just keep cutting away at my leg. I can barely walk or sit down. There's going to be nothing left of me," she added. "I'm sick of spending my life in [the] hospital," Ms Milton said. 

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The Post reported that the infection is spreading down her leg and she may have developed a blood clot as a result of ongoing infection. "I'm sick of spending my life in (the) hospital. I don't know how much I can take," she said. 

"I haven't been [a mom] in years. My mom's been doing everything for my kids. Nothing seems to work, none of the treatments help at all. I can't believe a simple scratch has left me like this," the 40-year-old added. 

Ms Milton is now proposing having the leg amputated so she can move on with her life.