Sharon's back in the pool
For some, the hardest part of a neurological condition is the unexplained symptoms before receiving a diagnosis. And for others, it’s the years that follow, trying to navigate a new normal and what life looks like now. Sharon Pattison's story is marked by over a decade spent dealing not only with multiple sclerosis, but with a leg wound that refused to heal – keeping her away from the things she loved and leaving both Sharon, her daughter Casey, searching for a solution.
Sharon remembers the exact day of her diagnosis, the 4th of April 2000. A date, she states, is still permanently etched in her mind. However, as many people living with MS know, symptoms usually surface long before you hear those two words. For Sharon, it was way back in 1994 after she had given birth to her miracle daughter Casey – a pregnancy she mentions was far from smooth. She had been having trouble walking, often relying on furniture around the house as a crutch as she moved from one area to another. For years, she recalls simply getting on with things and coping as best she could. However, as time went on, her symptoms didn’t disappear.
“I’d spoken to the GP about it and as soon as he saw me, he wrote to the neurologist. I was seen within four days, so I just knew it was obviously important,” she remembers.
After the official diagnosis, Sharon’s health progressively declined while Casey remembers she began some caring duties for her mum at just seven years old.
Life carried on, and amid it all, Sharon worked to keep her MS symptoms at bay while Casey kept herself busy with school. One day in 2014, Sharon suffered a fall and broke her ankle. Not an overly unusual situation for a hospital to deal with, but it was then the issues started. Sharon’s initial hospital visit was followed by several days of home care, but she was soon readmitted. The wound had worsened after an allergic reaction to the bandages led to infection. Six months on, it was still spreading.
“My leg got that sensitive, the doctors and specialists would try a new product or medication, and it would start healing and then my leg would just reject it,” Sharon states.
What followed was years of potential remedies, followed by the devastation that, once again, the wound wasn’t healing. Sparing the gory details, Casey recalls finding out everything she could about wounds, dressings, hospitals, doctors, pastes, medication, new products and potential solutions – with the hospital even offering her the opportunity to study nursing as she became so advanced in wound care. They explored different specialists in many fields of medicine; all the while hope was waning.
“Mum’s wound would go all the way down, and then the next week it would grow twice as big. It just never wanted to fully close. It was so frustrating,” said Casey.
On a particularly hard month, Sharon remembers they wanted to amputate her leg.
By this point, she had been living for years with an open wound and MS symptoms, and it seemed as though even the specialists were beginning to doubt it would ever truly heal. But Casey and Sharon weren’t ready to give up. By now, they both had over nine years of experience navigating this world of care and had come to understand all its intricacies. They had noticed that many specialists would alter the treatment plan after only a few weeks, each bringing their own distinct approach to the problem.
“If you get compression wraps done by Orthopedics, you get compression wraps done by Immunology, and you get them done by Plastics, each department will wrap it differently,” Casey said.
Now armed with zinc wraps and bandages that Sharon noticed had worked well once before but are often only used for a short period of time, they dressed the leg with that same wrap, the same way, for just under a year. Around the same time, they began working with Randall Rooney, MSWA Service Delivery Lead – Physiotherapy & Exercise Physiology Services.
“I prescribed Sharon a lymphoedema pump to help manage her swelling,” he said.
In addition to the lymphoedema support, the MSWA Dietetics team also worked to ensure she was meeting her fluid, protein and micronutrient needs to aid her skin integrity.
“The combination of zinc bandaging, lymphoedema support and dietetic intervention, coupled with Sharon’s determination and Casey’s tireless advocacy for her mum, led to a remarkable outcome!”
“Her wound completely healed,” Randall shared.
This milestone was monumental – few will ever truly understand how far Sharon and her daughter had to reach this solution. But now, their eyes were firmly fixed on a different horizon.
“Before her injury, Sharon loved swimming and hydrotherapy, but she hasn’t been able to enter a pool in 13 years,” Randall said.
So, with Randall and Casey by her side, Sharon finally was able to get back into the Hydrotherapy pool at Wilson. It was a milestone amongst milestones – one she simply describes “was absolutely amazing”.
Sharon and Casey are firm believers in perseverance, the value of personalised support and the power behind self-advocacy, with Casey dedicating years of her life to caring for her mum and understanding all the little things that helped her heal. With regular hydrotherapy now part of her routine and a new approach to caring for her leg, Casey and Sharon are ready finally to move forward. When Sharon was asked how she’d made it this far, despite so many doubting their decade long journey, she simply answered, “oh, I don’t give up.”
