This one’s for you, Al.
It’s my honor to dedicate this website to Al Foster, who graciously shared his heartbreaking story during an interview.
We’ve lost touch over the years, but his words will always stay with me.
Scroll down to see the ad, which was part of a branding campaign for
Osteopathic Medical Center of Texas.
I told my wife I’d change the light bulb. Then it dawned on me I couldn’t. That was one of the few times I cried.
“I was hanging Christmas decorations on my house and fell off the ladder. Landed on the curb and crushed my heels. It felt like an explosion came through the tops of my feet.”
Meet Al Foster. He spent 15 months in a wheelchair. Wounds wouldn’t heal. Amputation was considered. After “shopping around” for a new therapy, he found it at Osteopathic Medical Center of Texas: hyperbaric oxygen therapy (which suffused his wounds with oxygen). Eight weeks later, his wounds were closed.
“The doctors could actually tap the exposed bones in my feet. The pain was terrible. To see the wounds finally close up has given me a lot of new hope. I can get around again.”
Today, Al works a full-time job and dreams of “having a dance one of these days.” While he still gets frustrated with home repairs, he’s back in his woodshop again.
“I can’t say enough about those folks at the hospital. I’m going over there in a few minutes, and I guarantee you there will be some personal acknowledgement. When I leave, I’ll be leaving the presence of friends – and on my own two feet.”
Prevention. It can head off trouble. Minimize its effects .
Guard against it coming back.
Prevention works wonders.
