Mr. Frederick Major is a 68 year old who served in the Air Force for 8 years. He also served his country in Vietnam. He continues to serve by working for the state of Indiana, Department of Veterans Affairs. He presented to the wound center on 10/11/16. A blister had developed on his left foot, which continued to worsen. When he presented to the wound center, he had a wound on his left dorsal foot, left medial dorsal foot, and right calf. All wounds were necrotic. Severe edema was noted and the patient was having difficulty walking. Lisa Castor, ANP saw the patient that day and debrided the wounds. Wound care was ordered and a vascular consult was also ordered due to the severity of the wounds. Dr. Jayroe (Interventional Cardiologist) came to wound clinic to see the patient, and the patient was scheduled for revascularization on 10/13/17. The diagnoses included:
- Critical limb ischemia
- Non healing left foot ischemic ulcer
- Obstructive PAD with abnormal arterial doppler study
- Chronic venous insufficiency
- Chronic atrial fibrillation on oral anticoagulation
Mr. Major continued with wound care and serial debridements. When the patient arrived for wound care visit on 11/1/16, he was noted with plastic trash bags covering his legs to contain copious amount of drainage. When the dressings were removed, legs were noted with increased drainage, increased edema and redness, indicating infection. Mr. Major was then admitted to AMG LTAC (Long Term Acute Care) directly from the wound center. Dr. Vail followed the patient during his stay on the AMG unit. The patient received wound care as ordered, along with other treatments ordered. He was discharged to an Extended Care Facility on 12/28/17 for further rehab and wound care. He was readmitted to the wound center on 1/5/17 and evaluated. His wound care treatment at that time was a wound vac and compression.
He was also receiving his physical and occupational therapy at the rehab facility, as well. He received a variety of advanced wound care treatments and continued to improve. He was discharged to home from the extended care facility in mid- February. He continued to receive weekly debridements and advanced wound care treatment at the wound center. He had progressed from arriving on a stretcher to arriving in a wheelchair. He is now mostly ambulatory and self- sufficient at home. His wounds continue to improve and the patient is hoping to return to work soon. He has been off work for approximately 6 months. He is also looking forward to retiring later in the year. He stated “when you go through something like this, it changes you”. “You realize how precious life is”. He is looking forward to spending time with his children and grandchildren. He also plans to do some fishing.
“The excellent team at the Center for Wound Healing, along with other providers, and positive reinforcement that I got is what has kept me going. Attitude is a big part of it. I also appreciated the upbeat attitudes”. He went on to say that he “literally had to learn to walk again”.
And, he ended our conversation by saying that,
“The excellent teamwork is the reason that I have my legs today”.
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