BCHHC

Working outside is second nature for Peg Tegtmeier, a farmer's wife. Tending to herrose bushes is something she enjoys doing, and when she stumbled and fell into the bushes this summer, she got up, pulled out the thorns, wiped off the blood and went on with her day.

When the sore was not healing and her leg became swollen despite antibiotics, it was time to take it more seriously. With her doctor's referral, she went to the Beatrice Community Hospital Wound Clinic to see Nurse Practitioner Makayla Wiese, who is a certified Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurse.

Makayla began the assessment and treatment process to heal the wound with more advanced therapies. One treatment included a wound VAC that Peg wore daily. The wound VAC, Makayla explained, removes drainage and allows the wound to fill in and heal faster. Other advanced dressings and specialized treatments were also used.

Peg, owner of Frame Connection in Beatrice, says it was a relief to see the wound starting to heal and to be able to discuss the process with Makayla during her visits for a dressing change.

"I'll be honest," Peg says. "I was getting worried. My leg just seemed to be getting worse and worse. Immediately after my first visit with Makayla, things started to improve."

With the wound now fully healed, Peg says she's tackling her long to-do list -- fall yard work, vacation to Mexico, and, of course, holiday preparations!