Christine Macready was packing for a vacation when she learned she’d lose her toes. Mark Evans, DPM, called to tell her that her left foot would likely require a transmetatarsal amputation. A severe bone infection had damaged her toes.
She’d been on antibiotics three times a day. The infection “just wasn’t clearing up,” says Christine. She had all five toes removed during the surgery.
“I can still feel myself wiggling them even though they’re not there,” she says. “But I don’t have pain anymore.”
Since that first surgery in late 2019, she and Dr. Evans, “have become like old friends,” Christine says. Dr. Evans is a wound care expert at UPMC Wound and Hyperbaric Center in Lititz.
She currently visits Dr. Evans and the team in Lititz once a week. The team there cares for the total contact cast needed to treat a diabetic ulcer on her left foot. The cast shapes to her foot to distribute weight and protect her skin as it heals.
“Before I had the cast on, I couldn’t step on my foot at all,” she says. “Now, I can walk with it. The casts are incredible.”
“It looks like they’re putting on a wet sock, then it hardens up and you wear a boot,” Christine says. “So, you have to make sure you’re wearing the right clothes. I wore dresses all summer because of the cast.”
What’s even more incredible than the cast, Christine says, is Dr. Evans and the entire staff at the Wound and Hyperbaric Center. They’ve put me on the way to recovery without further surgical intervention, she says.
And Dr. Evans’ expertise has helped her lower her blood sugar levels and better manage her diabetes. His bedside manner is “excellent,” too, she says.
“When it comes to Dr. Evans, I have never had a better doctor,” Christine says. “He’s terrific.”
“When things are not going right for me, they’re not going right for him either,” she added. “He really cares about his patients. As soon as I get there, I tell him jokes and it’s just such a great experience.”
She couldn’t be more satisfied with the center’s staff, from the front desk to the nurses station.
“I go there almost every Friday now to get checked, and I usually stay for a of couple hours,” she says. “I almost hate to get better because I will miss these people! You wouldn’t believe how great they are.”
“Even the front desk has the best receptionists ever. They get me in fast, and if I have to wait 10 minutes, they apologize,” she said. “I tell them I’m fine, I’m happy to wait an hour. I just couldn’t be happier with the whole experience.”
As someone who hasn’t always had the best time with other hospital systems, Christine knows the value of good doctors. That’s why she sticks with UPMC.
“The minute you walk in the door, you feel like you belong there. You feel welcome,” she says.
The staff at UPMC Wound and Hyperbaric Center includes expert physicians, nurses, and technicians. They provide top-notch wound care for a variety of health issues. These include:
- Chronic infections.
- Diabetic foot ulcers.
- Non-healing surgical wounds.
- Pressure ulcers.
- Wounds associated with serious infection.
- Arterial disease.
- Radiation injury.
Available treatments include:
- Debridement.
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
- Wound-related surgery
- Dressing selection.
- Special shoes.
For more information, visit the UPMC Lititz Wound Healing Center website or call 717-299-3020.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on , and was last reviewed on .