Northboro Chiropractic Center is pleased to share their Patient of the Month:
Dave had been a wellness chiropractic patient for 14 years and had hardly ever been sick other the occasional cold, when in 2011 he was faced with a very serious health crisis. He developed a massive blood clot in his leg (the length of his knee to his stomach) due to an underlying blood clotting disorder. He was rushed into emergency surgery to break up the clot and then the surgeon detected he had developed Muscle Compartment Syndrome, a painful condition that occurs when pressure within the muscles builds to dangerous levels. This pressure can decrease blood flow, which prevents nourishment and oxygen from reaching nerve and muscle cells and can result in amputation. He had emergency surgery to cut both sides of his left leg open, which saved his leg, but left him with major wounds and nerve damage and an uncertainty to whether or not he would be able to walk again. The uncertainty of this situation was challenging for this high school teacher and father of three young children.
After a week in the hospital and 3 weeks of inpatient rehabilitation, Dave was sent home with a wound vacuum, visiting nurses to take care of him and a prescription for physical therapy. He was able to resume his regular chiropractic care and was adjusted multiple times per week in an effort to keep his immune system strong, help prevent infection and restore nerve function. The vascular surgeon and neurologist both gave him little hope to walk again or regain nerve function in his leg. The neurologist told him that whatever feeling he had in his leg 3 years post-surgery would be pretty much all he would get back and he didn’t hold out hope for much improvement. Dave was pessimistic, but knew chiropractic gave him the best chance to regain any function in his leg. He suffered with chronic nerve pain and with his open wounds being so large the chance of infection was also great, so he had many obstacles to overcome.
He went to physical therapy multiple times a week, but more importantly received 3-4 chiropractic adjustments a week, including adjustments to his leg and ankle, increasing his mobility. In less than a year he moved from needing crutches, to a cane, to not needing any assistance to walk. The feeling in his leg and foot slowly came back and his pain level decreased dramatically. Probably the most amazing thing was he NEVER developed an infection, which is so very rare with the type of open wounds he had. Since he had regular adjustments before and throughout this whole ordeal, his immune system was strong and could prevent infection.
Dave is now healthier than he has ever been, he participates in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing classes, RAN (yes, RAN) the Fenway Spartan Race in November of 2016 and hiked 1500 feet to the top of Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park last summer. He knows the adjustments he received here at Northboro Chiropractic Center have allowed him to stay as healthy as possible and enjoy his life with his wife, Kelly, and their 3 kids!