Bonnie Mullet’s Courageous Journey With Type 2 Diabetes and Lifesaving Care at East Jefferson General Hospital

Ten years ago, Bonnie Mullet was living a full, active life—coaching children’s athletics, volunteering with Special Olympics, and playing baseball several nights a week. She had no hint that diabetes was silently developing in the background.

“I was just doing my normal things,” she said. “I had no idea anything was wrong.”

A routine blood test changed everything.

A Diagnosis That Came as a Shock

Bonnie was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after routine lab work revealed her blood sugar levels were “off the charts.” Her primary care provider immediately referred her to an endocrinologist, and within hours she was instructed to go straight to the emergency room.

“I didn’t know anything about insulin or diabetes,” she said. “It scared me. I had no idea how sick I really was.”

She spent seven days in the ICU, receiving fluids and careful monitoring until her blood sugar stabilized. After discharge, she began insulin therapy and diabetes education, eventually transitioning to oral medications like metformin as her condition improved.

For nearly a decade, she balanced her diet, stayed active, and managed her health well. When her blood sugar began to rise again, her new primary care doctor, Laura Mansfield, DO, at East Jefferson General Hospital, adjusted her treatment plan, adding medications including Jardiance and eventually Ozempic.

“I thought it was working for me,” Bonnie said. “My weight was stable, my sugar looked good, and I felt active again.”

But in October 2024, everything changed.

A Sudden Crisis: Deep Vein Thrombosis

On October 29, 2024, Bonnie’s toes suddenly went numb. Within minutes, her entire right foot lost feeling. In the emergency department at East Jefferson General Hospital, imaging revealed deep vein thrombosis (DVT)—a dangerous blood clot lodged in a deep vein of her right leg.

DVT blocks circulation the way a kink in a hose stops water; when blood can’t flow normally, the surrounding tissues are starved of oxygen and nutrients.

To relieve pressure and restore as much circulation as possible, Bonnie required an urgent fasciotomy. Surgeons opened the tight compartments of her lower right leg and performed surgical debridement, removing devitalized tissue—what Bonnie described as “scooping” along both sides of her leg. Despite these efforts, the lack of blood flow had already caused irreversible damage. Over the next two weeks, her toes turned red, then purple, then black, a sign of necrosis, meaning the tissue had died.

Her podiatrist, John Carradine, DPM, ultimately amputated the toes on her right foot to remove nonviable tissue, prevent infection from spreading, and protect the rest of her foot and leg.

“Deep vein thrombosis can become a time-sensitive emergency,” said John Lindsey, Sr., MD, the plastic surgeon involved in Bonnie’s care. “When blood flow is reduced for too long, the skin and soft tissues may suffer damage. By the time we see these patients, our focus is often on managing the resulting tissue loss and preventing infection.”

After the toe amputation, Dr. Lindsey helped salvage Bonnie’s lower leg. He focused on rebuilding the damaged area, protecting the remaining bones, and giving her the best chance at long-term function.

“My role in her recovery was to restore blood flow and reconstruct her right foot,” explained Dr. Lindsey. “I performed a microsurgical free-tissue transfer, taking healthy tissue from her thigh and reconnecting its blood vessels to her foot. This allowed us to cover her remaining metatarsal bones with healthy, vascularized tissue. It was a long, high-risk surgery, and many patients with this degree of damage ultimately need a below-knee amputation. In Bonnie’s case, we were able to save her limb, and she has excellent function today because we prevented a higher-level amputation.”

A Complex Recovery and a Team That Wouldn’t Let Go

After surgery, Bonnie hoped healing would begin quickly. Instead, she entered one of the most difficult chapters of her journey. Because diabetes slows the body’s natural healing response—and because her foot had endured severe vascular damage—a small area of her wound refused to close. She developed recurring infections, including staph, and needed multiple courses of IV antibiotics at home.

To give her the best chance at healing, Dr. Carradine referred her to Frank Rabito, Jr., MD at East Jefferson General Hospital's Wound and Hyperbaric Care Center —a crucial step for a patient with diabetes, where circulation issues can make wounds significantly harder to heal. From her first visit, Bonnie knew she was in the right place.

“When I met Dr. Rabito, I was very impressed,” she said. “He made me feel comfortable right away. I trusted him completely.”

Dr. Rabito remembers that first meeting clearly. “For patients with diabetes, specialized wound care is essential,” he said. “Reduced blood flow and slower healing mean even small wounds can become serious quickly. From the start, Bonnie showed incredible courage, and our team rallied around her. Wound healing is a partnership, and she committed herself fully to the process, even on the hardest days.”

At the Center, her treatment focused on debridement, the process of removing dead or infected tissue so healthy tissue can regrow. Although often uncomfortable, debridement is essential for preventing infection and preparing a wound to heal. At each visit, her clinicians examined her foot closely, adjusted her protective dressings, monitored for early signs of infection, and coordinated additional procedures when deeper debris needed to be surgically cleared. They worked closely with podiatry, surgery, cardiology, and her home health nurses to ensure every part of her care plan stayed aligned.

Still, the wound was slow to close—a common and frustrating reality for patients with diabetes and severe vascular injury. When the site continued to break down, the team identified hidden debris and removed additional bone. They monitored her stitches carefully, keeping them in place for several weeks as the wound slowly strengthened.

And through all of it, Bonnie felt not just cared for but cared about.

“This is my favorite clinic to come to,” she said. “Even though it hurts sometimes, they make me feel so comfortable. I feel like they’re my family.”

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: A Turning Point in Healing

As Bonnie battled recurring infections and stubborn wound-healing issues, her care team recommended hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Given her type 2 diabetes, extensive tissue damage, and compromised circulation, HBOT offered a powerful way to deliver oxygen to tissues that were struggling to heal on their own.

For 60 days, Bonnie spent about two and a half hours per session inside East Jefferson’s hyperbaric chamber. Inside the pressurized environment, she breathed 100% oxygen, which saturates the bloodstream with far more oxygen than normal. That oxygen can then reach deeper into tissues—even those with poor blood flow—to support healing, fight bacteria, and stimulate new blood vessel growth.

For Bonnie, the therapy provided meaningful progress. The improved oxygen delivery helped calm inflammation, strengthen the wound bed, and support the formation of healthy granulation tissue. She also noticed improvements in the scars and graft sites on her leg from her earlier surgeries.

Some days she napped in the hyperbaric chamber. Other days she watched movies. Every day, she felt supported. She especially remembers Michelle, a member of the hyperbaric team, who kept track of her appointments, relayed questions to physicians, and even brought Dr. Rabito into the chamber to answer questions face-to-face.

“She went above and beyond,” Bonnie said. “I always stopped in to see her. She made everything easier.”

Healing, Strength, and a Path Forward

Today, Bonnie continues to heal under the coordinated care of the East Jefferson General Hospital team including her long-time vascular specialist, Robert Greer, MD, her podiatrist, Dr. Carradine, and the wound care specialists who have guided her recovery. She manages her diabetes with oral medications and insulin, monitoring her blood sugar closely to help prevent future complications.

At home, she uses a wheelchair and a walker with a knee rest until her right foot is fully healed and strong enough for prosthetic fittings. She looks forward to eventually transitioning into a custom shoe insert or brace—and she’s determined to walk again.

Slowly, she’s returning to the things that bring her joy. At 66, she enjoys cooking—so much so that her siblings ask her to prepare dishes for family gatherings. Being able to cook meals she can enjoy with her diabetes, and spend time with her husband and family, brings her comfort and a sense of normalcy.

“I just want to get back to doing things,” Bonnie said. “I want to volunteer again and help others going through diabetes. Helping them will help me too. My motto has always been: keep moving forward. No matter what happens, you don’t look back. You move forward.”

Her faith has carried her through losing loved ones, surviving Hurricane Katrina, enduring major medical complications, and adjusting to life with limited mobility.

“The Lord gives you only what you can handle,” she said. “I’m still here. I’m thankful.”

She hopes one day to advocate for others living with diabetes, using her experience to encourage early monitoring, thoughtful medication management, and staying connected to a supportive care team.

“Everybody goes through things they don’t understand,” she said. “You just have to make the best of it. Do what you can. And if you’re dealing with diabetes—listen to your doctors. They’re trying to help you.”

For more information about diabetes care and the Wound and Hyperbaric Care Center at East Jefferson General Hospital, visit Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine | East Jefferson General Hospital