The Journey to Healing
1/14/2025
Trusted experience in treating chronic wounds
At age 25, Jack Crump’s life forever changed after he fell off scaffolding, paralyzing him from the chest down.
As a scaffold builder, he was also tasked with tearing the structures down. On that day, he was working at a power plant when the unthinkable happened.
“We got it down to about 50 feet when I fell,” he said. “The scaffolding was inside a boiler, so when I fell, I hit steel at the bottom.”
As a paraplegic, Crump is more susceptible to ulcers that are caused when the skin on his legs and tailbone rub against his wheelchair. Now 51, Crump has received wound care services from the Northwest Health Wound & Hyperbaric Care department for 15 years.
The American College of Surgeons estimates that more than 6.5 million Americans have chronic non-healing wounds each year. Their treatment often requires a high level of specialization since different underlying strains of bacteria or other factors contribute to the wounds, requiring customized treatment plans for each ulcer.
There, Crump met doctor, Michael Woods, M.D., medical director of the Northwest Health Wound & Hyperbaric Center in Valparaiso and learned that Dr. Woods has successfully treated multiple infections that have caused dozens of wounds - wounds that can leave a patient bedridden, and if untreated, cause serious infections and amputation of the affected limb.
Even after moving to South Carolina in 2023, Crump continues to travel to Northwest Indiana to receive the expert level of care that he says he hasn’t found elsewhere.
“I sometimes see doctors in South Carolina so I don’t have to travel, but they often consult Northwest Health for their advice,” Crump said. “But I still go to Valparaiso when needed for more intensive treatment because Dr. Woods is the guy. He treats you like a family member when you come in, and he’s healed every single wound I’ve ever had - even ones with multiple infections.”
The trek from South Carolina to Indiana is a long 14 hours, but Crump says the level of care and treatment options available to him at Northwest Health - Porter is worth the journey.
Treatment plans developed by Crump’s wound care team have included using hyperbaric medicine. The Northwest Health Wound & Hyperbaric Care department is one of the few places in the region that offers wound care with this type of treatment in the same facility.
During a hyperbaric treatment, Crump lies in a special pressurized chamber of pure oxygen. As he breathes normally, the chamber increases the amount of oxygen in his blood. Other treatments offered in the department include a variety of wound dressings, bioengineered skin substitutes and skin grafts.
While Crump travels across several state lines to receive wound treatments, it’s a lifeline Crump doesn’t take for granted.
“It’s so important to have a healthcare provider in your corner who knows what they’re doing,” he said. “The faster I can get my wounds healed, the better my quality of life is and the faster I can get back to my life.”
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