Darrell’s Story

It was in the emergency room that Darrell learned he had diabetes. Doctors told him that his blood sugar level was 1,115 mg/dL and they started him on intravenous insulin immediately and admitted him to the hospital. He was sent home on Metformin, a drug used to control high blood sugar, and later, he was prescribed insulin. He was encouraged to change his diet, but Darrell also has Crohn’s disease, which already requires a special diet.

Darrell’s diabetic neuropathy began as tingling in his hands and feet and then suddenly took a turn for the worse.

​In June 2021, Darrell, an avid knife collector, headed to the BLADE Show in Atlanta, a 3-day event advertised as the world’s largest knife show. “After less than an hour,” Darrell says, “my feet started stinging in excruciating pain. I was not able to stand any longer. I couldn’t walk.”

His physician referred him to a neurosurgeon who checked his lower lumbar spine to see if that could be the cause of the problem. It wasn’t. He also saw another specialist to test the blood circulation in his legs.

​“I tried everything I could. I tried elevating my feet. I took pain pills- hydrocodone 10 milligrams. Did not help at all. I bought special slippers. They did not help. Just to sleep, I had to take sleeping pills,“ says Darrell.

​In his search for relief, he went to see Dr. Thomas Brosky, a podiatrist, who told him that he had neuropathy and the nerve damage was largely irreversible. He warned Darrell that he might need an amputation or end up in a wheelchair at some point in the future. He referred Darrell to RealWave®, saying there was a small chance they may be able to help address his pain.

​Wanting to be proactive, Darrell started going for ultrasound treatments three times a week. RealWave® uses proprietary ultrasound technology, and treatment focuses on normalizing sensation, restoring blood flow to affected areas, preventing further nerve damage, and, when possible, regenerating nerves.

​“After about a month, I started to notice some difference in the pain level. I was a ten out of ten, and I guess it went down to a six or five out of ten, which was remarkable to me. I could finally walk without excruciating pain,” says Darrell. “After another month, I finally was down to a zero, which I was very enthusiastic about.”

​Darrell has many other health problems, including COPD and heart disease, but he says, “my feet are not one of them anymore.”

​Darrell wants others to know that RealWave® neuropathy treatments are worth putting in the time, saying, “It took me about a month before I started feeling some kind of noticeable difference. But that is so small of an amount of time when you look at the rest of your life or the possibility of being in a wheelchair for the rest of your life … It definitely helped me.”