Sharon Helgeson

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Mom has been dealing with an infected callus on the bottom of her right foot for almost 2.5 years. It was doing well, up until this last Fall, when it became infected again. After countless trips to the Marshfield wound clinic in Marshfield, WI (1.5 hour drive, one way), more than one trip to the ER, etc; an MRI from Monday's ER visit revealed osteomyelitis - bone infection - in the bones of her great toe. The doctor at Marshfield in Eau Claire wanted to admit her there, but they didn't have any open beds. Tana and I contacted her insurance and were happy to find out, she could go to Mayo in EC. It's nice, simply because Tana works there and can check in more often.

She was admitted Tuesday evening at Mayo, surgery was scheduled for 2p on Wednesday to remove the infected bones. Once the doctor was in surgery, he found that the tendon under her big toe had partially disintegrated, so he removed it. After a washout of the infection, she was wrapped up and brought to her room.

Everything looked good Thursday. She did experience quite a bit of neuropathy in her leg, she got some Tramadol to help with that.

Today, cultures returned from the surgery indicating that the infection is too much for antibiotics to fix. She is scheduled for a toe amputation tomorrow morning. Just her great toe at this time. She is ok with this decision, as it will relieve her of a lot of pain and aggravation.

~Tana and Barb