The use of sugar in the treatment of wounds dates back to Ancient Egypt. This article begins with a summary of that history and, in the case study that follows, a patient describes his 13-year experience of living with leg ulcers. The patient explains the challenges these ulcers have brought to his day-to-day life and the particular problems he encountered with pain management. He discusses different approaches by doctors and district nurses to manage the ulcers and how, by chance, a newspaper article led to a meeting with a PhD student researching sugar and wound care – a meeting that was to lead to a new lease of life for the patient.