BCHHC

“It’s been a wonderful experience for us – a lot of gratitude here.” -- Chris Dungan

Chris Dungan had a family birthday to celebrate this past June. A birthday party she just couldn’t miss. Her mother was turning 86, and Chris and her sisters were in charge of decorations, food and all the party arrangements.

When they arrived in Kearney, however, she knew there was something more than just her fibromyalgia flaring up. Massive spasms from the waist down had progressed to numb, rubbery feeling legs and her family convinced her to go to the Emergency Room. Several doctor visits later, she learned the vertebrae in her neck was out of alignment and had put enough pressure on her spinal cord to flatten it out, causing numbness. She underwent a major surgery on her cervical spine.

It was a couple of months after the surgery that with the encouragement of family she ended up in the care of Certified Wound, Ostomy & Continence Nurse Makayla Wiese at the Beatrice Community Hospital Wound Clinic because the surgical incision on her neck wouldn’t heal.

Slowly, Chris began to see positive results from the wound Vac and other treatments Makayla applied.

The best news arrived on her own birthday on Dec. 3 when Makayla joyfully announced that the wound was healed – filled in with new, healthy tissue -- and Chris no longer needed to have appointments in the wound center.

“Makayla and Jessica (Melcher) are so knowledgeable and compassionate,” Chris said. “I am so grateful we have them in Beatrice or I would have had to go to Lincoln. I also do physical therapy and the wound clinic was so good about coordinating their appointments with my PT appointments.

“It’s been a wonderful experience for us – a lot of gratitude here,” Chris said. “I had Home Health and Physical Therapy also. It’s like people here really care about you as a person.”

Chris is now looking toward the future, hoping one day to move beyond her walker and cane to walking normally again and, most importantly, playing with her 18-month-old grandson!