Mr. W: Back From the Brink

Mr. W, 47, lived with a form of paraplegia for almost 20 years following an accident at work. He was in and out of the hospital for years because of wounds and infections. Eventually his back and heel wounds became so bad that he became malnourished and went into septic shock. He came to the Emergency Room at a local short-term hospital and then went into renal failure.

At the end of the month, Mr. W came to Kindred Hospital Delaware County for wound care, telemetry and renal monitoring and IV antibiotics. When he arrived his team of caregivers discovered that his wound healing was complicated by a large amount of scar tissue as well as the fact that he was so malnourished. He had many obstacles to overcome to return to his optimum level of health. He wanted to return again to his own home, and the Kindred staff worked along with him to achieve this goal, no matter how long it would take.

Mr. W’s wounds were severe but the wound care team – including the surgical wound specialist, wound care nurses and registered dietitian – monitored his progress daily.

His treatment included a wound vac and clinitron bed, and then finally he was able to get up to a chair. His kidney function was closely monitored, and in spite of returning to normal in a short time the doctors frequently checked his lab values to ensure there was no relapse.

Six months after arriving at Kindred in a seriously ill condition, Mr. W was on his way back home. The Kindred staff had grown very fond of him and was encouraged with each milestone, no matter how small. His severe wounds, which were almost fatal, were almost completely healed.