Dr. Anne McCaffrey, MD 330 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

"I saw Dr. Ann McCaffrey on Thursday Dec 14 at about 1pm to take a look at and advise me on a bizarre wound my body had 'created'on my backside. It was a wound that would not stop 'weeping'. Prior I had been to an ER of Nashoba hospital (Ayer) as it was a wound that was spreading in redness and lysing off the epidermis in a similar way that 'scalding skin syndrome' does. I was given a course of ABs, strong AB ointment, gram stain and wound culture there. Subsequently, I followed up with my PCP but the results of the wound culture were too 'cryptic' for either my PCP or me too fully interpret. My PCP gave script for anti-viral which was a good idea since the wound came subsequent to a re-occuring herpes outbreak (which I conveyed such in Ayer ER but they did not test for viral matter). However, since it was a CONSTANTLY 'weeping' (wet) wound for which my PCP used a water proof transparant (moist healing) Tegaderm dressing, I was not too sure about the instructions to keep it moist (fear of more macerated and peeling epidermis). My PCP also treated with some weird placebo energy treatment (Fenq shui?, voodoo?..no idea what it was) where she kept waving her hands around my back as to move the 'air' around. Was not too sure of that either. Hence, I needed a second opinion from a doctor about what kind of bandage (one to keep it wet or dry one to absorb), who could interpret and explain a cryptic wound culture read out and who practiced the type of medicine they teach in med school. Dr. Ann was just what I was hoping for. She knew how to interpret the wound culture report and explained it to me. Not only did she tell me I didn't have to keep a water proof bandage on it but she also placed a nice absorbant guaze bandage on it and gave me some to take home for self care. She also took the time to hear me out on the other types of 'self care' methods I was using (blue light therapy and absorbant drying dressing from zinc oxide and Bentonite Clay, also medical honey). Although she really did not encourage those modalities, she made clear that soap and water would be fine. I was also RELIEVED that she practiced 'Western' medicine in the setting aimed at such and appeared quite conversant in wet vs. dry wound care and in interpreting and explaining microbiology assays. I felt much better after seeing her and my anxiety abated too."