5 columbushosp.org Marcene Wurdeman feels like the W.O.C. Health Center has become a second home. For the majority of the last eight months, she has been visiting the clinic every two weeks to tend to two different wounds in her feet. But she doesn’t mind — actually, when there was a break for about a month, she missed seeing the nurses, doctors and other staff members. “I knew some of the nurses from my past, and I got to know the rest of the team, as well,” she said. Back in 2008, Wurdeman received chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. While she is now cancer-free, she has experienced continuing neuropathy (numbness) in her feet ever since. In 2018, she saw podiatrist Brandon Borer, DPM, for surgery to remove the infected middle toe of her left foot. The foot surgery went well, and after six weeks of therapy and wound care with Borer at the W.O.C. Health Center, it was completely healed. “Every time I would come in to the clinic, he would need to clean the wound and then put medication on it,” she said. “The medication allows the wound to heal from the inside out, but that takes time.” Later, however, her right foot became infected from multiple calluses. In August 2023, while Wurdeman was getting ready for a routine appointment with Borer at the W.O.C. Health Center, her right foot was swollen and red. Borer determined the foot was infected, and Wurdeman made an immediate trip to the hospital for X-rays. Later that afternoon, Borer removed the infected fourth toe. For the next five months, Wurdeman was homebound with a non-weight-bearing right foot. Her only trips out of her house were to see Borer. In December, her foot was declared healed, and for a month Wurdeman stopped seeing Borer. But then everything started up again — the right foot had some problems, and the removal of an old callus on the left foot produced a small wound. This time, Borer needed to work on both of her feet in the W.O.C. Health Center. Wurdeman, who taught accounting at Central Community College until she retired in 2017, enjoys walking in her free time. But, of course, she has to wait until she’s fully healed in both feet. “It just takes time,” she said. “I have to have patience. But one thing is for certain: I liked Dr. Borer as a doctor and surgeon from the start and have complete trust in his decisions about what needs to be done with my challenging feet.” — Continued on page 6 A home for healing Marcene Wurdeman
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