A Scots woman is begging medics to amputate her leg after a horror dog attack has left her suffering from chronic ulcers at the site of her wounds. Margaret-Rose McGill was mauled by a former pal’s bull-terrier type pet in June 2019 before spending six weeks in hospital as doctors tried to repair the extensive muscle and tissue damage to her limb.
The 42-year-old says she is now living in constant pain and has multiple open wounds on her leg after developing chronic ulcers around the bite site - which began forming around 12 months after the attack.
Speaking through tears, Margaret-Rose, who lives in Troon, South Ayrshire, said: “I’ve begged the doctors multiple times to take my leg off because I can’t keep living like this. I am terrified that I’ll end up with sepsis and die.
“I'm in constant pain and it’s really affected my ability to walk. I’m in the doctors’ surgery up to five times a week to get it dressed but nothing seems to be working.
“They don’t want to go down the route of amputation yet, but if they had amputated my leg two years ago and given me a prosthetic I would be back on my feet.
“The ulcers started appearing about a year after I was bitten and have never stopped. I've had multiple hospital admissions and they are getting worse and worse."
Chronic ulcers affect around 1 in 500 people in the UK and can form after an injury where high pressure in the veins of the legs have damaged the skin. Some can take months to heal while some never do.
Pictures of Margaret-Rose's leg - which are too graphic to publish - show the swollen, red limb covered in open, weeping sores.
She added: "I’ve also got two heart conditions and I have Deep Vein Thrombosis so my body is under a huge amount of pressure.
“I am not a healthy woman and I am tired of suffering. I need this dealt with before it does me any more damage. I want to live my life - not sit looking out the window watching everyone else. I’ve accepted that my leg needs to go.”
After being attacked, Margaret-Rose managed to free herself from the dog’s jaws and tried to drag herself to her home nearby. Two members of the public spotted her bleeding profusely and began first aid in the street - a move that Margaret-Rose believes saved her life.
She explained: “I tried to run the 500 yards back to my place but my leg was dragging. Two young men saw me and noticed all the blood. They saved my life that day because the consultant told me that if it had been 10 seconds longer, I’d have bled out as one of my arteries had been cut.
“If those boys didn’t know what they were doing I would’ve been dead by the time the ambulance came. I was taken to the A&E at Ayr University Hospital and over the next few days they were flushing the leg out because they weren’t able to close the wounds.
“There was nothing there to stitch because the tissue and the muscle was damaged beyond repair.
“I've been left traumatised after the attack. I don’t sleep very well at night because I still have flashbacks. I’m still suffering from that almost four years down the line. " My whole life has changed.
“The doctors couldn’t close the wounds at the time because of the level of damage the dog caused. It's three years down the line and I'm still suffering."
It is understood that the dog responsible has since been destroyed.
Craig McArthur, Director of East Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership and Primary Care Lead for Ayrshire said: “We are very sorry to hear of Ms McGill’s issues and concerns but cannot provide further comment on her individual case.
“We would encourage her to contact us directly so that we can investigate and provide feedback.”
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