Seventy-year-old Wesley Cumpton of Butler, Missouri, installed phones, high speed internet and other products related to telecommunications for a living. That’s why ladders were an everyday part of Wesley’s life. Yet, ladders nearly caused his demise. 

Below, Wesley recounts his fall and resulting battle with urinary retention, and also how Cure Catheters have been a game-changer for his active life.

In 2002, Wesley was on a job site, running cable. He put a ladder up against a wall inside of a building, and before he went up the ladder, he noticed the concrete floor. He remembers that he told his son, Wade, how slick the concrete looked. But, the slippery floor wouldn’t prove to be a problem that day.

Wesley started climbing up the ladder and just as he got about 15 foot off the ground, he began to fall. He remembers looking at his son and saying, “I’m going down!”

wesley’s worst fear: Falling With No Way to Stop

The wall had nothing Wesley could hold onto to break his fall. The next thing he knew, Wesley landed on the concrete floor face first.

Wesley’s son told his dad later, “When you hit the floor, I thought you’d probably broken your neck.”

Wesley did suffer a terrible whiplash once he hit. Because Wesley attempted to stop his fall, he landed in a lopsided position and sprained his wrist. After he finished the day’s work, Wesley told his son, “I think you’ll have to drive home. I believe I’ve sprained my wrist.”

When Wesley and Wade arrived home, Wade told his mom, Linda Kay, what had happened. She immediately insisted that her husband go to the hospital, but Wesley declined and said he thought he’d be okay. But the next morning, Wesley decided to go to a doctor for a wrist x-ray. The doctor informed Wesley that he hadn’t broken or fractured any bones and probably just had sprained his wrist. He told Wesley, “You’ll need time for your wrist to heal.”

Wesley Cumpton Suffered a Stroke 12 Days after His fall

With a full schedule at work and clients to serve, Wesley returned to work with just a sore wrist.

But 12 days after the fall, he had a stroke. Doctors learned that he had ripped a vessel in his neck when he fell.

When the doctors discovered why Wesley had had the stroke, he was immediately flown to St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.

The St. Luke doctors told Wesley that when he’d fallen and ripped the neck vessel, that vessel had taken 12 days to clot – which is what caused the stroke. As a result of the stroke, Wesley could hardly walk or talk. He spent three weeks in rehab, relearning how to walk again and how to speak above a whisper.

“While I was in rehab, my son and my wife continued to run all five of my businesses,” Wesley reports.

“When I finished rehab, every time I grabbed the extension ladder to get to work, my wife would go berserk. I told her, ‘I can’t let a ladder intimidate me.’”

Eventually, Wesley was back at it – climbing step ladders and extension ladders as he always had. He said that most of his life had been spent on ladders or telephone poles, since he once had worked for the telephone company, so it was what he knew. But, even so, Wesley realized it was time to start scaling back.

Dealing with Unexpected Bladder and Prostate Problems 10 Years After his Fall

“We learned after about 10 years that my fall probably was related to the bladder and prostate problems I was experiencing,” Wesley says. “I couldn’t urinate properly, and I was experiencing urinary retention. We don’t know that for sure that’s what happened but have assumed that.”

The Veterans’ Administration Hospital sent Wesley to Kansas City Urology in 2012, since the hospital doctors knew he had a urinary problem.

Wesley had an urodynamic test at the urology clinic, and the lady giving him the test asked if he had had a fall lately. Wesley went on to explain his 15-foot fall from a ladder in 2002 and told her he had hit the concrete, face first.

The nurse said that the fall could have affected Wesley’s bladder and prostate. During the test, Wesley was given a vast amount of saline solution to see if he could urinate properly, but he couldn’t.

“Although this medical group didn’t know what was causing me not to urinate, they learned that the only way I could pass fluids out of my system was by using a catheter,” Wesley recalls.

Wesley had a business to run and a family to support. He didn’t have time for bladder issues like urinary retention.

“When I’d been in the VA hospital and used its catheters, I had a number of problems with urinary tract infections (UTIs). I then asked the doctors at the urology clinic if there was a better catheter they knew of that might stop my UTIs.

They suggested that I talk to the people at a local medical supply company that specializes in catheters and ostomy products. That company recommended I try Cure catheters.”

Wesley’s Advice on Finding the Best Catheter for Your Needs

Wesley explains, “Something I’ve learned from going through this entire experience is that the effect of a fall or possibly a whiplash type of accident may not show up immediately. The damage to your body may not be noticeable quickly. Even doctors can’t always find out exactly what’s happened to your body internally as the result of a fall.”

Wesley began using Cure catheters in 2016 and has never had a UTI or any urinary problem since he switched to using a Cure.  He recommends exploring your options too if your current catheter isn’t working well for you.

“The big advantage of the Cure catheters I use is that they are pre-lubricated. Cure catheters truly have changed my life for the better.”

So, I’m always staying with Cure catheters from now on, because they’ve completely eliminated my UTIs,” Wesley says. Thank you for Choosing a Cure, Wesley!

HAVE URINARY RETENTION? REQUEST A SAMPLE OF THE CURE ultra® CATHETER

If you are experiencing Urinary Retention, Cure Ultra for Men or another Cure Catheter may be helpful to you too.  Ask your doctor about Cure catheters, and request a free sample below!

To request free samples of the Cure Ultra® Ready-to-Use Catheter or any Cure Medical catheter, contact your local distributor of quality healthcare products, or click here.

CURE ULTRA® READY-TO-USE CATHETER FEATURES

The sterile, single use Cure Ultra® is a ready-to-use catheter for men that features all of these benefits thanks to user-driven innovations:

• Sizes: Straight  8 FR – 18 FR; Coude 12 FR – 18FR
• Available in straight and coude for men
• Smooth polished eyelets on the pre-lubricated catheter tip increase comfort
• NO DRIP: CoverAll application technology provides even distribution of lubricant over the catheter as it is removed from the package
• Easy gripper sleeve assists with insertion
• A unique, ‘No Roll’ connector/funnel end helps increase confidence when draining
• Will not kink if you bend it
• High quality materials – not made with DEHP*, BPA, or natural rubber latex – offer peace of mind. Learn more about the concerns with DEHP here.
• The small, flexible package features an easy tear top and enables disposal of minimal material.
• Cure Medical supports medical research

The Cure Ultra® Coude for men is pre-lubricated, and has a bent tip along with a blue control stripe to help with comfort and accuracy during insertion.

VIDEO: nEW! CURE ULTRA® coude INTERMITTENT CATHETER

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