It
all started in April of 2004, I was in an Ultralite accident
at an air show in Florida. From the crash I sustained a double
compound of my lower right leg. At the hospital there, I was
placed in an external fixator. For the next six months, I was
told by my doctor in Michigan I was not to put any weight on
the leg and that my leg would be one inch short for the rest
of my life.
Shortly
after having the fixator removed, things went from bad to worse.
I remember going to my doctor here in Michigan and him telling
me that my leg had broken again. My fibula plate had broke and
the screws in my tibia had also broke, causing the original fractures
to break again. The doctor proceeded to tell me "my only option"
was to have the nonunion cleaned out, broken hardware removed
and more plates and screws put back in. All this would cause my
leg to become two inches short. Not knowing my true options, I
opted for his procedure.
For the
next week I sat at home searching for new options. Where else
of course to find the latest and greatest than the Internet. I
remember Googleing many things from tibial nonunion to leg lengthening
and finding Dr. Robert Rozbruch's website. After just a few minutes
of reading his website, I got excited but also very emotional
because I realized there was a chance to truly save my leg. I
immediately sent Dr. Rozbruch an email telling him of my situation
and what my doctor in Michigan was proposing to do. I remember
opening Dr. Rozbruch's reply and him telling me, he could very
likely help me and told me of the many cases he has treated similar
to mine and he wanted to see me as soon as possible. It wasn't
a couple days later and I was in Dr. Rozbruch's (Doc's) office.
After
just a few x-rays and a few measurements, he said he could definitely
help me. Told me he could fix my nonunion and correct my leg length
discrepancy all in one by using a little known device called the
"Ilizarov Frame". Being a fan of technology, I had many questions
of course. What amazed me the most about this device is that it
has been around for about 50 years, but only a hand full of Doctors
in the United States use this technology. It didn't take me but
a few minutes to decide I wanted Dr. Rozbruch to do my surgery.
In just
a few short weeks, Doc got me in, performed the surgery and all
went well. It took a few months of adjustments to make my leg
the right length and another 5 or 6 months of almost normal activity
with the frame on to allow the new bone and nonunion to heal.
All this time, I was walking, swimming, camping and doing many
of the things that I would normally do. Finally, in September
of 2005, Doc told me it looked ready and we were going to take
the frame off. I was ecstatic to say the least, I was going to
have my leg back again.
Today,
I do "everything" I did before my accident. I can play with my
kids, hunt, fish,
camp, ride bike, swim, snowmobile, ride horses, and one of my
favorite is spending time with my wife and kids at the sand dunes
on Lake Michigan. In February of 2007, my whole family went to
Disney and Epcot. I had no problem with all the walking we did.
I outlasted most everyone with two good legs. :)
Doc and
his team are miracle workers in my eyes! Many thanks to Dr. Robert
Rozbruch, Dr. Svetlana Ilizarov, Dr. Austin Fragomen, Hospital
For Special Surgery, nurses and all the staff.
