Alice Smith was told her foot had to be amputated, but she refused. Their stubbornness paid off.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Just as the pandemic started last March, Alice Smith was thinking of something else – a terrible place at her foot.
“A friend of mine looked at this and said, ‘Girl, you’d better see a doctor,” said Smith.
In St. Vincent’s, where the wound was so dire, she was hospitalized for IV treatment. And later that evening I got terrible news from the doctor in charge.
“It looks like it needs to be amputated. And I said no, that’s not an option for me,” said Smith.
Alice’s stubbornness paid off.
She was transferred to the CHI St. Vincent Wound Center and Dr. Referred to by David Dean, who immediately recognized Alice’s complications from diabetes.
“Diabetes affects your eyesight. It affects kidney function. It affects your blood flow to every organ – your heart and your legs, ”explained Dr. Dean.
It had caused neuropathy in Alice’s feet which meant she never felt the wound, which was becoming almost tragic.
“I was scared, but I just knew I would be healed and I am,” she said.
But this healing was not easy. It meant weeks and weeks of planned therapy.
“We are very lucky that she has responded to all of these therapies,” said Dr. Dean.
And that included daily trips to the hyperbaric chamber.
“And I’m not really claustrophobic, but I didn’t like that, but I came for 40 days and stayed there for two hours every day,” explained Smith.
“Much of her healing has been due to her own efforts and willingness to embrace the technology and ideas, and I am not a great salesman,” said Dr. Dean.
“When you come here, you don’t get a sad story, you get hard work and the truth,” explained Smith. “Dr. Dean will tell you the truth. You know, he will tell you what to do or what to do, it’s up to you to do it.”
And she did. And the bonds that had formed after weeks and weeks of therapy meant they were celebrating Alice’s June birthday three months later.
“And did you know they gave me a card that everyone signed, including Dr. Dean, and I have this card as a souvenir, ”she said. “You know they wished me a happy birthday and all and I still have my foot.”
And Alice no longer lives there.
Dr. Dean, like so many doctors at CHI St. Vincent, told us that the starting point in the fight against diabetes is weight management.
A healthy weight makes for a healthy lifestyle, even when at risk.
