A story of how my life changed due to a doctor’s inexperience after surgery and I became disabled.
by Maria L Ayala
My name is María Ayala. I am 56 years old and have three children and six grandchildren. I want to tell you my story and how important it is to keep a wound clean. On April 25, 2023, I fell and ruptured the tendon and had to have surgery on May 26, 2023, to repair the tendon in my left foot. But the wound did not heal as it continued to drain. Six weeks later, I was taken to the emergency room and found I had bacteria. On July 21, I had a second operation to clean the wound. Then they sent me to a wound center. They cleaned the wound and took a culture once a week. September, the nurses there told me I no longer had bacteria. On September 22, 2023, they performed another operation to repair the tendon, removing the tendon from my big toe. That didn’t work either. The wound wouldn’t heal, continued to drain, and was very painful with burning. The doctor told me not to worry that it would take a long time to heal; if not, he would amputate my foot. In November 2023 the wound was still the same problem wasn’t healing again wound center did another culture they sent it to a different lab they said again I didn’t have bacteria the insurance questioned wy taking too long to healing the doctor said was exausted and sent me to another doctor but all the problen was because the privioun doctor and the wound care center dosen’t giving me intravenous drugs. He said the best way was to have a plastic surgeon put in an implant and have an infection specialist. The plastic surgeon admitted me to the hospital on December 7th to do the first cleaning operation. He cleaned me again on December 10 and December 12, 2023. The doctor put the implant in my ankle and attached an external fixator. He removed tissue from my right leg to put on the ankle and skin from my left leg to cover the flat. I got two more surgeries on January 03 and 11, 2024. The wound was cleaned again the bacteria were counting in the bone. On March, I had 3 more surgeries on March 14, 26, and 28, 2024. The wound was cleaned again; the infection continued in the bone, and all doctors were worried about the osteomyelitis at this time. The foot had a bad smell. I got a new antibiotic for 18 months. I couldn’t put weight on or dengo my foot down because the flat could come loose. I had to learn how to use a wheelchair. Nowadays, I can move around a little more with the help of a walker.
Author’s Note: My name is Maria Ayala. I was born in El Salvador and came to the United States in 1989, leaving my family behind. I am a mother of three children and six grandchildren. My life has not been easy. I would like to thank my ESL teacher, Leslie Heird.