Gay Hakes, a 46-year-old Kent resident, has been battling multiple sclerosis (MS) for nearly two decades. Her disease has progressed to the point that she now is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair. Coping with MS has been so all-consuming that she paid little attention when she developed a small red spot on her tailbone.

"Wounds were the last things on my mind," she says. "I never thought something so little could turn into something so serious."

Hakes developed an infection that started at the surface of her skin and spread to her bones. She became so ill that she spent a week in a local hospital and was transferred to a nursing home where staff referred her to the specialists at the Wound Healing Center at Auburn Regional Medical Center (ARMC). Center doctors performed surgery to remove as much of the infection as possible. Then Hakes underwent several weeks of daily hyperbaric oxygen therapy to infuse her body with oxygen and help her heal.

Hakes, who says she couldn't have gotten through her ordeal without the support of her family, says she learned something important from this experience: Her disease and wheelchair use put her at risk for future wounds.

"I shift my body frequently to relieve the pressure on my skin, and my husband and I check my skin daily for early signs of wounds," she says. "If I develop other wounds, I know I need to get expert help right away. The staff at the center are some of the kindest people I've ever met in my life. I cried when my wound healed, and I was done with treatment because I'd come to consider them part of my family."

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