Remarkable Journey continued
Besides the conditions already mentioned,
Mr. Bishop has diffuse vascular disease,
which is coronary artery disease combined
with peripheral vascular disease, coronary
artery disease, and Sjogren’s Syndrome, a
condition related to rheumatoid arthritis.
Mr. Bishop had managed these chronic
conditions for years with a lot of trips to
specialists and rehabilitative physical
therapists. But his health problems became
severe in the spring of 2009 when, as a
complication of diabetes, the toes of his left
foot became gangrenous. As a result, a
portion of his foot was amputated.
Hospitalized for much of the year, Mr.
Bishop also suffered a second heart attack, a
stroke, seizures set off by the stroke, and
kidney failure.
Blood flow never returned to
Mr. Bishop’s lower extremities and the
problem was so severe that it necessitated a
devastating choice: to preserve his life,
both of his legs had to be amputated below
the knees.
In early 2010 Mr. Bishop needed to
Donald and Ruby Bishop.
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THE CATALYST Spring 11 | www.sw.org
recover from 2009. To create a recovery
plan, he again turned to Dr. Hearne. When
Dr. Hearne first saw Mr. Bishop after his
hospitalization, the patien