Orville “Moose” Moellman, 67, lives in Cole Camp and went to the Bothwell Walk In Clinic last July with what he thought was an infected callus on the ball of his foot. After an initial examination from a nurse, he was directed to go straight to the Bothwell Wound Healing Center for further evaluation.
There, Dr. Jeff Wadley took on Moellman’s case and was concerned by the infected area on his foot. He discovered the infection had spread and cellulitis, a common but serious bacterial skin infection, had advanced up his leg. Surgical debridement was necessary to fully clean the wound and address the infection.
“Dr. Wadley pretty much immediately admitted me to the hospital so I could get an IV and surgery to address some of the infection,” Moellman said. “I was in the hospital for a total of three days.”
Wadley diagnosed Moellman with a diabetic foot ulcer, which was the cause of the foot callus. Moellman said he had the callus for quite some time, and it was not until he frequented the lake last summer that it broke open. He said his medical team believed the open wound was exposed to lake water and became infected.
For someone who enjoys his full schedule of work and activities, the recovery time was a challenge.
“The procedure shut me down for a bit,” Moellman said. “After the surgery, I couldn’t walk on my foot and it needed to be elevated most of the time. My wife took care of me and made sure I was fed and taking the medicine I needed.”
Surgery was not the end of the journey for Moellman. For about a year, he went to appointments at the Wound Center to continue treatment, first weekly, then biweekly. He had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the nurses and other medical staff.
“The nurses and I have discussed a lot of different ideas of how to help move things along, and Dr. Wadley has given me great advice,” Moellman said. “I get along with the nurses and staff at the Wound Center well. I haven’t lost a foot yet, so they seem to be right.”
If Moellman would have waited much longer to have his wound assessed, things could have ended up drastically different for him. When asked how he would advise others suffering from a wound, he said, “Don’t wait!”
“It’s not going to heal itself,” he said. “The longer you wait, the worse it will get and it will be more serious. If I would have gone sooner, the infection wouldn’t have spread to my leg and my healing process could have been quicker.”
Though his journey to healing isn’t quite over, Moellman is slowly easing his way back into his normal activities, including hunting, fishing and watching his grandchildren play sports. He has also taken various precautions when in the lake or the pool to prevent the wound from reopening. Even though he was released from care in late May, Moellman will continue to monitor the wound and be in direct contact with medical staff at the Wound Center with any questions or concerns.
“It is so nice to have a place like the Wound Center so close to home,” Moellman said. “I cannot imagine having to make all of those trips to the city for care. This is an awesome place to go and I am extremely satisfied with the care I received.”
For information about wounds that won’t heal, contact the Bothwell Wound Healing Center at 660-827-2525.
