A BAGPIPER had to have his fingers, foot and half his leg amputated after they turned black and started to rot due to a rare condition.
Andrew Shilliday was left fighting for his life and suffering severe injuries similar to frostbite when circulation was cut off to his fingers and toes.
The champion bagpiper’s world crumbled when he was told his fingers would need to be amputated, but a fellow piping pal has adapted one of the instruments to allow Andrew to play without his fingers.
Six years ago Andrew, 33, noticed his fingers and toes were turning black with gangrene.
The infection quickly began spreading up his hands and feet and he was diagnosed with systematic sclerosis, a severe form of scleroderma that causes the immune system to attack the bodies connective tissues.
Eventually the tissue and surrounding blood vessels can become too damaged to survive.
Andrew, from Dungannon, in Nothern Ireland, had to have all of his fingers and thumbs, his left leg and half his right foot amputated, according to the Daily Record.
He also lost some of his sight in one eye.
At it’s worst his parents were called to hospital as doctors warned he only had a short time to live.
“I knew it was serious when my fingers and toes started to change colour. It all happened so quickly and was very difficult to get my head around.
“There was lots of pain and things just weren’t getting any better. I taught bagpipes full-time and it was my livelihood, I feared I would never play or teach it ever again.”
He studied piping at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and worked in Ullapool as a full-time piping instructor for the Highland Council until he became ill in September 2012.
What started out as a strange rash on his legs quickly turned into a life-changing illness.
Andrew was transferred from Raigmore Hospital, in Inverness to a specialist unit in Aberdeen where he spent eight months recovering.
A RARE CONDITION CAUSED BY THE IMMUNE SYSTEM ATTACKING THE BODY
Scleroderma is an uncommon condition that results in hard, thickened areas of skin and sometimes problems with internal organs and blood vessels.
It is caused by the immune system attacking the connective tissue under the skin and around internal organs and blood vessels. This causes scarring and thickening of the tissue in these areas.
There are two main types of scleroderma; localised and systematic.
Systematic sclerosis:
In systemic sclerosis, internal organs can be affected as well as the skin. This type mostly affects women and usually develops between 30 and 50 years of age.
It may only affect the hands, lower arms, feet lower legs and face, but it can move on to affect the lungs and other internal organs.
Symptoms:
- thickening of the skin over the hands, feet and face
- red spots on the skin
- hard lumps under the skin
- heartburn
- problems swallowing
It tends to get gradually worse over time.
When the skin and surrounding vessels thicken too much it can cut off blood flow to some areas, causing them to rot.
Cause:
It’s thought scleroderma occurs because part of the immune system has become overactive and out of control.
This leads to cells in the connective tissue producing too much collagen, causing scarring and thickening (fibrosis) of the tissue.
Treatment:
The aim of treatment is to relieve symptoms, prevent the condition getting worse, detect and treat any complications.
That may include medication, steroids, moisturisers and, in worst case scenarios, surgery.
Source: NHS Choices
MORE IN HEALTH
“I was suffering very similar injuries to frostbite in mountaineers – my hands and feet went black and I had problems with my lungs,” he added.
“I can’t remember much from some of my time in hospital but at one stage my parents were called across and warned to expect the worst. It was pretty bad.”
Despite his harrowing ordeal, Andrew wants to use his story to inspire others facing similar battles with their health.
Pal John Elliot, who owns a shop that sells reeds for bagpipes, helped adapt a bagpipe to fit Andrew’s new needs, and Andrew was able to play at a concert in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, on Wednesday night.
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News Pictures Bagpiper loses his fingers, foot and half his leg after they rotted away due to rare condition
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