A WOMAN begged doctors to amputate her leg after suffering years of agony with a condition usually seen in pensioners.

Linda McLean described the “amazing” relief she felt following her operation as one which transformed her life.

The 54-year-old from Linwood developed Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) at the age of 28, after being rushed to hospital by work colleagues when she could not stand up from her desk.

By the time she was 34, she had already had a double hip and shoulder replacement to help treat the disease, which causes inflammation and swelling of the joints making it almost impossible to move.

Linda said: “I just kept getting really bad pains in my arms and legs, and one day in work I just couldn’t move. I was in so much pain. It was terrible because I couldn’t walk.

“One foot was sitting on top of the other and I had to drag my feet along. My hips were really tight and I couldn’t open my legs at all to walk.”

“When I was 33 I had a full shoulder replacement and then the next year I had a bilateral hip replacement at the Southern General.

"It went really well and I was back up on my feet pretty soon after that. I was really glad to have my independence back and be able to drive again and do things.

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“I kept having problems with my left foot though. I had my pinkie toes removed on both my feet because I couldn’t get any shoes that I could wear, but after that more problems happened.”

Linda, who previously worked in a medical lab, said she kept developing rheumatoid nodules in her foot – hard nodules of skin which around 20 per cent of people with the condition develop.

With Linda, the problem developed on her foot and she said it felt as though she was “walking on marbles” constantly. For the next 12 years she faced months of agony, and had to go under the knife up to five times a year to have the lumps removed.

“I just said ‘enough is enough’. It was too painful and I couldn’t cope with it.

“I asked the doctor about getting my leg off, and she said ‘No way’.”

Linda pleaded with medics for five years to amputate her leg until one day she was given the go-ahead.

“I felt like enough is enough. I just couldn’t go through with it any more. I said: ‘You need to take my leg off.’

“I wanted to just take my chances. I went in in March 2015 and got it chopped off.

“When I woke up, it was like a big weight lifted off my shoulders. I felt like a different person, I felt amazing.

“My sister even said the difference in my way incredible, she commented on how well I looked after such a major operation.”

After her amputation, Linda got involved with the Finding Your Feet charity, whose founder Corinne Hutton was nominated as our Scotswoman of the Year in 2015.

The organisation greatly helped Linda, she said, by connecting her with other people who have gone through the same thing she has.

It was awarded a cash boost of more than £9000 last year by the Big Lottery Fund, to help expand its network and help more people on their journey to recovery.

Linda said: “I’ve met loads of amazing people, and they’ve been so supportive. I phoned Corinne when I got my leg off and she came to see me and it all went from there.

“We go out for lunches, cups of tea and to talk about how we’re feeling. It’s nice to know there are others out there like me.”

The group were also there to support Linda during one of her most difficult moments, after she was thrown from her electric wheelchair, breaking both of her legs and destroying her prosthetic leg last year.

The accident left her completely immobile for months, and Linda has since been diagnosed with osteoporosis on top of the RA.

She said: “My knee on my amputated leg was fractured, and my other leg was broken completely.

“It was really terrifying, the chair just rolled right over my legs and kept crushing them. I was just lying on my bathroom floor unable to move.

“After I got the cast on, my leg was still really painful and when I got it x-rayed the doctors said it had broken again.”

Linda’s leg broke a further two times, resulting in the osteoporosis diagnoses, but she still has hope that she will walk again.

She said: “My quality of life has really gone down. I used to drive my car and go places by myself, but I just can’t do that now.

“I still have hope that I’ll be able to walk again though. I’m not giving up.”