Two roads diverged in a wood and sorry I could not travel both

As we find ourselves in the autumn of this unique and unparalleled year, I reflect on the words of the highly-accomplished American poet Robert Frost, who established motifs of seasons and the relation to the themes of human limitation. In the autumn of his life, he wrote what many consider to be his best work, about two roads in the woods and not knowing which path to take.

This year certainly has been an unexplored forest of uncharted dilemmas and decisions. We have been privileged to have accompanying us on this journey our North American collaborators: the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC), the Academy of Physicians in Wound Healing (APWH), the American Vein & Lymphatic Society (AVLS) and the Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI). On behalf of the team at Journal of Wound Care (JWC) and our collaborators it is my pleasure to welcome you to this special complimentary issue of Wound Central. Continuing Robert Frost's theme of making choices, we have the advantage of travelling down many ‘roads less traveled by’ with our colleagues in North America. Dr Mark Melin from the Wound Healing Institute in Minnesota starts the journey by giving us a more focused look at the role of glycocalyx and our foray into uncharted territory, ‘an Amazonian forest of diverse glycoproteins and proteoglycans lining the vasculature and lymphatic channels’, and visualising the role in improving wound care outcomes. The next section of our expedition illustrates the importance of understanding the cellular basis of wound healing in managing challenging wounds as well as the dynamics of lymphoedema. An overview of pressure changes in the lower limb and a novel dual compression system are discussed in two papers. The clinical characteristics and treatment practices of lymphoedema are examined in a Canadian wound care clinic setting, with many valuable lessons to be learnt. On behalf of the JWC team we welcome submissions for one of our new sections, Innovations in Wound Care, to showcase all novel and emerging areas in this fast-changing specialty.