Reclaiming the Future: Robby's Story

Robby John’s journey began one ordinary afternoon after he finished his shift as a school bus driver. He noticed soreness in his arms and weakness in his hands. By that evening, he could no longer stand. An ambulance rushed him to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with transverse myelitis, a rare neurological condition that causes inflammation of the spinal cord.

"I went from being completely independent to losing everything in a day," Robby recalls.

After months in the hospital and inpatient rehabilitation, Robby returned home. While adjusting to life with paralysis, he developed a severe stage IV pressure injury that became another devastating setback. Daily tasks were difficult, and his fiancée became his caregiver as they faced a condition neither of them expected.  

"I didn’t really know much about wounds prior to this,” he said.  “It just felt like it was never going to end," he said. "Every week, I hoped to see even the smallest bit of progress, to see the wound shrink even a millimeter."

A home health caregiver referred Robby to the Wound Care Center at TriStar Summit Medical Center, where he met Dr. Dewayne Lett, and the wound care team. They carefully monitored his progress, helped prepare him for flap reconstruction surgery and gave him a chance to heal.

When Dr. Lett told him he was a candidate for surgery, Robby felt hope for the first time in a long time.

"I could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel," he said. The surgery was successful, and for Robby, everything changed. "Once I got rid of that wound, everything changed," he said.

With the wound healed, Robby could finally focus on rebuilding his strength. He began outpatient rehabilitation at TriStar Summit and continues working toward greater independence and his ultimate goal of walking again.

"I'm going to keep believing I'm going to get up," he said. "I'm not going to give up on hope."

Robby says the support he received from the Wound Care Center made all the difference.

"They treated me like family," he said. "They kept me informed, encouraged me and helped me through one of the hardest times in my life."

As Wound Care Awareness Month reminds us, pressure injuries can dramatically affect a person's quality of life. Robby hopes his story encourages others to understand the importance of prevention, early detection, pressure relief and regular skin checks.

"If we had caught mine earlier, things could have been very different," he said. "People need to know how serious these wounds can become, and sometimes very quickly. "

For Robby, healing was about more than closing a wound. With the right team by his side, it became the first step toward reclaiming his future.