health

Lorraine Burnett was forced to have her leg amputated after a blister on her foot wouldn't heal.

This may turn you off buying new five-inch heels for life.

Lorraine Burnett, a 37-year-old from Dunfermline in Scotland, had purchased a new pair of heels to wear to a Christmas party.

When she woke up with blisters the next day but she thought nothing of it. Yet two years later, she was facing the amputation of one of her legs.

cheers champagne
Lorraine had purchased a brand new pair of shoes to wear to a Christmas celebration. Image via iStock.

"I'd stayed out dancing until the early hours, so thought nothing of achy feet. But then two years later I was having my leg removed," Lorraine said.

"It breaks my heart to think my five inch heels cost me my leg."

When the blister on her left leg hadn't healed after a week, Lorraine was prescribed antibiotics by her doctor. The wound didn't respond to treatment, and soon, she was unable to walk.

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Two years later, doctors recommended she have her lower leg removed to avoid enduring the infections for the rest of her life.

Doctors believed that Lorraine's Type 2 diabetes prevented the wounds on her legs from healing. Those who suffer from the condition are up to 30 times more likely to lose a limb when they suffer an injury to their extremities.

high heel injury
Doctors believed that Lorraine's Type 2 diabetes prevented the wounds on her legs from healing. Image via iStock.

In 2010, Lorraine underwent the five-hour surgery to have her lower left leg amputated. Her daughter, Megan, was just 10 years old at the time.

"I couldn't believe how much my life has changed over a couple of years. I'd gone from someone who liked to go out all the time - a real party girl who enjoyed the good life – to pretty completely housebound," said Lorraine of how the operation affected her life.

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Now, Lorraine is facing more complications due to the artificial limb provided to her by the NHS, which is "making her walking very difficult".

food mood
Two years after suffering a blister from a pair of new shoes , Lorraine's lower leg was amputated. Image via iStock.

"She is at the moment nursing a bad infection on the area where her leg was amputated as it no longer fits the pocket due to weight loss," her Aunt wrote on a Go Fund Me page set up to help Lorraine afford a new, more realistic and better-fitting prosthetic leg.

"A new prosthetic would mean I would look more like a lady again, not having to hide it. I can't show my leg off and feel like myself," she said.

"A new leg would mean a new life for me."

Lorraine is currently a third of the way to her £9,094 goal.