Wound Patient Stories

UMMC Midtown Campus Puts Wanda at the Center of Coordinated Care

Wanda Kelly has a long list of providers she needs to see, but fortunately, she has just one destination for care. She comes to the Midtown Campus for her primary care, wound and vascular care, and diabetes management.

A Deeper Healing

Jacqueline Jackson realized early on that service was her special gift. For years, Jackson has partnered with local social services to provide food and amenities to homeless youth. Inspired by this work, Jackson founded a food pantry in her own church. When she was diagnosed with cancer, her illness made it hard to continue serving the community she loved. Even worse, the pandemic made gathering in groups unsafe. I was not myself," Jackson said. "I lost a lot of weight and felt depressed."

The chemotherapy and radiation treatments Jackson received to treat her cancer changed the complexion and texture of her skin. A burn from the radiation treatments further impacted Jackson's quality of life. Once fiercely independent, she could no longer drive, cook or even sit down without constant pain. Even with pain medication, the discomfort was unbearable.

Jackson's oncology team knew her radiation burn wasn't healing and referred her to the Wound Healing Center at UMMC Midtown. At first, Jackson was nervous. "I agreed to the appointment, but I didn't plan to actually go," she said. "After leaning on my faith and a follow-up call with my oncology nurse, I agreed to give it a try."

The first day at the Wound Healing Center, Jackson was unsure what to expect. "My first contact was with the front desk staff," Jackson said. "They checked me in for my appointment and, almost right away, I felt at home." To help patients get comfortable, the staff do walk-throughs of the center for all new patients. Those facility tours and detailed explanations of her upcoming treatment put Jackson at ease. "My first visit went really well," Jackson said. "From then on, coming to the Wound Healing Center was just like visiting friends and family." Compassionate care offered by professionals who feel like family is no accident at UMMC Midtown Campus, and the Wound Healing Center is no exception.

Hope and Healing

Margaret Little, a 55-year-old native from the Sandtown neighborhood of Baltimore, is a very spiritual and lively woman. What many would not know about this vibrant woman is that she has been dealing with open wounds on her legs for almost 13 years. After receiving treatment at other hospitals with no success, Little became frustrated and started to care for her wounds on her own. "No matter what they tried, the skin never came back," she says.

Little became a patient at the Wound Healing Center at UMMC Midtown Campus. After seeing Little's widespread wounds on both legs, experts quickly surmised they were caused by venous stasis, a condition, usually of the lower extremities, having inadequate venous blood flow, which causes the skin to break down, leading to open sores.

The first line of treatment was to get her venous stasis under control with compression stockings. These special elastic stockings apply pressure at the ankle and lower leg and improve venous blood flow and reduce leg swelling. Then, the wound could be treated by a process of debridement, a thorough cleaning of all injured and dead tissue.

Just 13 weeks after Little's first visit to UMMC Midtown Campus, one of two wounds on her left leg had completely healed, and her right leg and the second wound on her left leg were well on their way to healing.

"When I saw that skin had finally covered my legs, I started dancing," Little says. "It was a celebration of life. I have had my legs covered for so long. I have wanted to wear skirts for so long and now it was finally possible."