Went upstairs to assist and hang with my disabled Army buddy. He has type 2 diabetes, Recently he has been treated on his lower legs for weeping edema Damage to capillaries or increased pressure is causing capillaries to leak fluid into surrounding tissues and result in swelling. His is being caused by sitting in the wheelchair all the time. His home nurse had wrapped his legs with gauze then with an exterior stretch wrap to apply pressure to the swelling. The hot weather has made the wraps too uncomfortable for him. He had me cut the wraps. Yuk. All the skin underneath is now dead on the surface. Scaly. His feet which have been neglected because he cant reach to take care of them himself. Apparently he has foregone the trimming and other foot care that VA can provide. His feet look cloven with a thick ugly layer of skin. My friend Jennifer Piel Welzenbach Taylor recently saw him on the 16th Street Mall and made a status line about his neglected feet. And yes while tending to his problem I did wear latex gloves plus washed my hands afterwards. His wheel chair was purchased by his ex-gay boyfriend (he didnt need it) because he got tired of walking behind him because he was naturally slow with a cane. It was a death sentence for my friend. 10 years later he is now truly wheelchair bound. This dilemma has also cause my friends hygiene to deteriorate extremely and he stinks to high heaven. I am very disappointed in him and the way VA overlooks his obvious hygiene problems. This is how VA is slacking. No follow up to the needed medical attention he needs. I met him in Europe when we were in the Third Infantry Division. He was a helicopter crew chief and I twice a month pulled duty that required me to travel via copter as an armed guard. Our division was scattered through out Bavaria covering 5 locations My duties were. Pay Day for the 3rd Adjutant General Companys field temporarily assigned troops and for classified document guarding. Was always fun to have a five city tour of Germany twice a month. .
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 05:41:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015