Foot ulcers, diabetes and Charcot foot: Wound Champion Don Heys' story
Monday, 29 July 2024
When UK-based Don Heys was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy – a condition affecting the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord resulting in weakness, numbness and pain, usually in the hands and feet – 25 years ago, he was told to expect the condition to worsen over time. He learned to live with persistent foot ulcers and, in 2019, developed a deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in his left leg and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. 

On a visit to his local GP that year about a foot ulcer, a sharp-eyed practice nurse – herself a diabetic who had been reading about the effects of diabetes on feet just days earlier – spotted the signs of Charcot foot. Tiny fractures in Don’s feet that had gone undetected because of his sensation loss resulted in shards of bone breaking through his skin, causing the persistent wounds Don was experiencing.

Don’s treatment is ongoing, with ulcers appearing once or twice a year. He sees a podiatrist for routine management and, when breaks or infections occur, is referred to the trauma and orthopaedics teams at his local hospital for plastercasts or antibiotic drips. He is recovering well from an operation to remove distorted bone in his left foot in June 2024.
 

Living with wounds

Don is an active 74-year-old who enjoys gardening and swimming, seeing friends and spending time with family – activities that are often unavailable to him when his mobility is limited by post-operative recovery, casts or offloading devices. But he maintains a positive attitude and says he is grateful to live near such an excellent GP surgery with a medical team that clearly understands wound diagnosis and management, and the importance of timely referrals to specialist services when required.

Don’s message to others living with diabetes-related wounds is to follow the advice of medical professionals. 

“There is great advice out there but sometimes it’s a challenge to follow it,” Don says. “So many of us visit clinicians who tell us what to do – then we fail to do it. Incorporating foot checks into your daily routine will improve your quality of life.”

Thank you to Wound Awareness Week Wound Champion Don Heys for sharing his story.

Read the Wounds Australia guide to caring for diabetic feet.