Life Care Center of Tullahoma heals wounds for local man

Kenneth Nutt was in bad shape when he came to Life Care Center of Tullahoma, Tennessee, on June 4, 2019.

It has been a long health journey for Kenneth, starting with an abdominal aortic aneurysm, or a bulge in the lower part of the major blood vessel that carries blood to the heart. That began his hospitalization in October 2018.

Kenneth went on to develop pressure sores and lose a lot of muscle strength and weight. He was only 129 pounds when he came to Life Care Center of Tullahoma on March 7, 2019, and he couldn’t walk. Due to his condition, he was on a feeding tube. He had a sacral wound and 11 other wounds on his legs, feet and toes that other health care teams had tried unsuccessfully to heal. The 11 wounds were due to the removal of blood clots that had developed as a complication from the surgical repair of his abdominal aneurysm.

“I was told prior to his admission that he had multiple wounds, but what I envisioned and what I actually saw were definitely two different pictures,” said Laura Matkins, wound care nurse at Life Care Center of Tullahoma.

Laura immediately went to work to try and heal Kenneth’s wounds and start him on the path to a better quality of life. She used special wound healing treatments to clean the wounds and stimulate healing, working in conjunction with the facility’s dietary team to provide meals that fostered healing and helped him regain strength and a healthier weight.

“This patient’s strong will, determination and proper nutrition aided in the progress of the wounds healing,” said Laura.

As Kenneth’s wounds healed, he was able to participate more actively in physical, occupational and speech therapy, which helped him with his mobility, endurance, self-care and overall function.

Kenneth can now walk with assistance more than 150 feet at a time. He is eating three meals a day with a good appetite and weighs 157 pounds. His primary care physician actually cried tears of joy when he saw that Kenneth’s wounds were healed.

“The facility works as a team,” Kenneth said. “The wound care nurse never gives up. Some would give up before they get to complete healing, but it can be done.”

Kenneth is finally planning for something he has wanted to do for more than a year – going home!