Dan Howard (center) has been a diabetic for 13 years and also suffers from neuropathy. “Because I couldn’t feel the bottom of my feet, I didn’t notice a cut that became infected,” Dan says. “Unfortunately, it got to the point where I needed to have the sole of my left foot amputated.”
After the surgery, Dan spent several weeks as an inpatient with the Advanced Wound Care team at Wagoner Health. “The care I received was top-notch, excellent and professional,” Dan says. “I could tell that everybody at Wagoner Health really cares about their job. They’re good people. Heath McDaniel, RT, Case Manager (right), and Amber Mitchell, LPN, MDS Coordinator (left), are two of my favorite people. And the chow hall was absolutely fantastic, the best I’ve ever visited. Try the biscuits and gravy. It’s manna from Heaven!”
Various staff would change Dan’s sterile dressing three times a week, monitor his diabetes, administer his insulin and antibiotics, and provide his wound vac treatment using a machine that creates suction to gently pull fluid and dead tissue from the wound and help bring the wound’s edges together.
As soon as his wound heals, Dan will receive a skin graft as the next step in his recovery. “Wound care can be a difficult process, but I found the right people to take care of me at Wagoner Health!”