When James O'Brien felt unwell on his return home from an overseas holiday, he assumed he'd caught a virus, perhaps COVID. In fact, a small cut on his foot had become infected, and sepsis – an extreme and life-threatening reaction to infection – was rapidly setting in. 

Concerned friends and emergency service workers rescued the semi-conscious Sydney man from his home and rushed him to hospital, where his lower right leg was amputated below the knee. 

What followed was almost four months in hospital, during which James was also diagnosed with diabetes, a leading cause of amputations in Australia – around 4400 a year. 

 James has made a truly remarkable journey back to mobility, learning to navigate life in his old apartment according to his new needs and returning to part-time work as an audio content planner with the ABC. 

A year on from his amputation, James says he is grateful for Australia's excellent health care system and feels "lucky to be alive", while acknowledging that his wound care journey isn't over. During a recent routine appointment, a physiotherapist found a blister on his left foot that James could not feel because of numbness related to his diabetes. 

As James' story demonstrates, the smallest wounds can sometimes have serious consequences – but the good news is, even many chronic (long-lasting) wounds can be healed with the right treatment. With routine podiatry visits, James is being supported to stop acute wounds like a small foot blister from becoming chronic. 

Thanks to Wound Champion James O'Brien for sharing his story. Read more on the ABC. 

Find out more about diabetes and wounds and diabetic foot care in our factsheets section.