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When Veronica* was 17, her mother brought her and her three younger sisters from their native Dominican Republic to live in America. Veronica’s mother had come to the United States beforehand to establish a new home and life for her daughters. “The Dominican Republic is a third-world country, so it was hard for my mother, who is a single parent, to raise four daughters there and care for herself,” Veronica shares. “She wanted us to have a better future. “So after she moved to the United States first, we stayed with my grandmother, and my mother sent back money. My mother worked very hard to get a place for herself and become stable, then she brought us up to help her out and go to school.” Veronica adapted to life in the US pretty quickly, but learning English was difficult for her. She refused to give up, however, because she was determined to learn the language of her adopted homeland. “I knew I would learn English one day,” Veronica states. “I knew that with patience, perseverance, dedication and continuing to go to school, I would get it. And I did. Now, I’m bilingual, and that makes me an asset to the company I work for.” Veronica works from home using her computer. But all the sitting that’s involved with her job took a toll on the circulation in her legs. They began to swell, and the swelling got worse as her condition progressed. For treatment, Veronica’s primary care physician referred her to a vascular surgeon who specializes in leg vein disorders. “By that time, my circulation was worse,” Veronica relates. “I also had pain and heaviness in my legs.” The procedure on Veronica’s leg veins helped; however, Veronica suffered with more than venous disease. She also had lymphedema, a condition that causes excess fluid to accumulate in the lymph vessels. Too much fluid in these vessels leads to swelling. “I asked the vascular surgeon if there was anything else that could help with the swelling,” Veronica recalls. “The doctor referred me to Acute Wound Care.”
“After my initial session with the compression pump, there was a noticeable difference. My legs looked skinny, like when I was younger, and they didn’t feel as heavy.” – Veronica
Acute Wound Care is a fully accredited home medical equipment provider specializing in hospital-grade compression devices and specialty wound-care dressings. The compression pumps, which reduce swelling caused by conditions such as venous disease and lymphedema, are prescription devices. They are approved by most insurers. “Acute Wound Care sent a very professional representative named Crystal to my house to install the compression pump,” Veronica recounts. “I’m a single mother of two sons. It was quite difficult to find a good time during the week to do the install, so Crystal came on a Saturday to accommodate my schedule.” “My role as a compression therapist is to assist patients with the application of their compression devices,” verifies Crystal Benavides, certified compression therapist at Acute Wound Care. “I enjoy educating patients on the purpose of the treatment and on how consistency will provide the best results so they can improve their quality of life and easily perform daily activities.”
Blood Flow Benefits
Acute Wound Care’s easy-to-use compression pumps remove fluid that has accumulated in the patient’s legs or arms, Crystal notes. “In this instance, Veronica had swelling from her mid-thigh down to the tips of her toes. “The pump has limb-sized sleeves that are placed on the arms or legs,” Crystal describes. “It gently massages the limb, draining any excess fluid back into the body’s circulatory system so it can be naturally eliminated. This alleviates swelling and many painful symptoms.” 
The pumps are highly effective and noninvasive, and for the legs, they are much easier to use than compression stockings. “Each patient is different, but most patients use the pump twice a day for forty-five minutes, usually in the morning and in the evening,” Crystal affirms. “While using the pump, patients simply sit back with their limbs raised to further assist with decreasing swelling.” The sleeves of the compression pump contain multiple chambers. During treatment, each chamber fills up with compressed air. Then, each chamber releases and the pattern repeats in a rhythmic fashion, forcing any excess fluid out of the limbs. “With venous disease, also known as venous insufficiency, there’s typically a slowness of blood flow through the leg veins,” Crystal reports. “The compression pumps not only push the lymphatic fluid through the legs, they also work hand-in-hand to assist blood flow in leg veins. “The compression pump helps with venous insufficiency because it pushes blood up through the legs toward the torso. The blood is aided along the circulatory system back toward the heart to get re-oxygenated and redistributed throughout the arteries. Swelling caused by leaky leg veins prevents blood from properly flowing through the veins. Reducing the swelling improves blood flow.” Results from a compression pump treatment are often apparent immediately. Many patients see a noticeable difference in the swelling and in the size of their limbs after their first forty-five-minute pumping session. This was true in Veronica’s case. “After my initial session with the compression pump, there was a noticeable difference,” Veronica enthuses. “My legs looked skinny, like when I was younger, and they didn’t feel as heavy. I thought, Oh my God! I can’t believe this.” Physicians throughout Florida have been recommending Acute Wound Care’s compression pumps to their patients for years and have been getting great results. “Many doctors have told us they’ve encouraged their patients to use the pump to reduce limb swelling and improve circulation,” Crystal observes. “They say the compression pumps are safe, noninvasive devices that greatly supplement the medical treatment they provide to those patients.”
Comfy Shoes
Veronica’s vascular surgeon had recommended compression stockings as an initial treatment for her leg swelling, but Veronica wasn’t happy with them. “I tried compression stockings, and they made matters worse,” Veronica recalls. “They were too tight, and there were times I felt I couldn’t even breathe. I told my doctor, These are not helping me. That’s when he referred me to Acute Wound Care for the compression pump. “The pump felt a little funny at first because of the pressure. It puts a little bit of pressure on my legs, then it goes up to my thighs. But then it releases the pressure, so it’s not uncomfortable like compression stockings because it’s not constant pressure. It gives me a break in between.” The compression pump reduced Veronica’s swelling overall and made even small tasks easier. “The swelling was in both of my legs, and especially in my feet,” Veronica notes. “Before, I couldn’t get into my shoes. They were really tight, so I was wearing a size larger. But after treatment with my compression pump, my feet fit in my shoes with no problem.” Veronica is quite happy with her compression pump from Acute Wound Care, and she’s extremely impressed by the compression therapist who came to her home to install it. “Crystal was very professional and compassionate,” Veronica describes. “She related to me as a single mother and worked with me. She very patiently explained the process. She explained everything, then asked if I had any questions or doubts. She guided me through the whole thing. I’m very pleased with her service and recommend her. “I feel great about the choice I made to go with Acute Wound Care, and I recommend them. I’ve already recommended them to my mother, who has the same problem as me. I’m happy to share my good experience because the compression pump is actually working for me. I can see the progress, and I feel good.”
*Patient’s name withheld at her request.
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