Scott Spear

Scott Spear is comfortable advising others on at least two fronts.

One has to do with amping up your property, because as a gifted landscape architect with more than 40 years under his belt, he can transform your forlorn yard into a verdant paradise.

The other has to do with your health, as he’s living proof that you shouldn’t automatically trust the first diagnosis when it comes to deciding how to move forward when you’re challenged with a serious decision to make.

“You can’t just take everyone at their word when it comes to your own life,” he says. “If I would have listened to the first set of doctors I consulted, I’d be without a foot.”

Scott, 61, was born in Oklahoma, then raised all over the world, thanks to a father who, after two tours of Vietnam, chose to extend his career in the U.S. Air Force. The family finally settled in California, where Scott spent most his school years.

He moved to Michigan about four years ago, landing with a company that allows him to develop architectural plans for yards big and small, including luxury estates throughout West Michigan and beyond.

The last 30 years or so, Scott has been challenged by diabetes, a disorder that runs in his family. His condition was complicated last year when he developed a wound on his right foot. He was treated by a wound specialist, and it seemed to improve. Appearances can be deceiving, though, and his condition began to worsen again, landing him in a hospital for a week. Medical personnel eventually recommended removing part of his foot, he says.

“I really didn’t deal with that very well,” says Scott, who admits he became “more than angry,” and checked out of the hospital with the resolve to seek other options. He enlisted the help of his girlfriend Tobi Beale, a hair stylist in the Ada area with a lot of connections.

It didn’t take long to discover and connect with ACV Centers. “I called them on a Wednesday and explained the situation,” Scott recalls. “They saw me the very next day, and just two days later – Friday of the same week – I underwent a procedure to improve the circulation to my foot.”

Scott underwent two in-patient procedures to successfully open the blocked blood flow in his leg that was causing the wound on his foot to worsen. The first procedure was for the main arteries in his upper leg and the second for the smaller arteries in his lower leg and foot.

“I was amazed at the speed with which they moved to take care of me,” says Scott. “I mean, one day I’m on the phone, and just two days later, I’m being cared for.”

Following the procedure, Scott was vigilant about treating the wound, attacking it with constant cleansing and a regimen of antibiotics. One month after his procedures, it healed completely.

“To me,” says Scott, “it was a miracle.”

Scott says he finds it both ironic and amazing that “With all the travels I’ve done around the world and living all over the country, it was incredible for me to learn that Dr. Mustapha’s office was right here in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“Talk about a godsend. And it’s a pleasure for me to shout about it from the mountaintops!”