Patient Stories

Upstate Orthopedics Veteran Accompanies Veteran on Honor Flight Syracuse Mission 10

Chere Ware, a 15 year employee of Upstate Orthopedics, served as companion for her uncle, William Saroodis, on Honor Flight Syracuse Mission 10 to Washington, DC on September 30th, 2017.

Honor Flight Syracuse honors our American Veterans by flying our heroes to Washington, DC to visit and reflect together at their memorials. The trip is free for Veterans. William Saroodis, who resides in Weedsport, NY, served in the US Army from 1954 to 1956 at the end of the Korean War.

According to Ware, “It was a privilege to escort my Uncle on this amazing trip. It was an honor to spend the day with these amazing men and women who so proudly served our country during WWII, Korea and Vietnam. We spent the day visiting the WWII Memorial, The Korean War Memorial. The Vietnam Wall and the Air Force Memorial. We visited Arlington National Cemetery and observed the Changing of the Guard at The Tomb on the Unknown Soldier The reception the veterans received everywhere we went was heart touching”.

Chere Ware is a US Navy Veteran who served as a Hospital Corpsman from 1979 to 1989. “I encourage everyone to take the opportunity to be a witness to this amazing event.” The next mission will be in April 2018.

The Vader Arm Saga

Laura Henry

Previous Race Recaps, etc. that include parts of this story:
http://www.teammpi.com/blog/post/ironman-louisville-arms-raised-in-victory

“Turn your scars into stars.” -Robert H. Schuller

Life rarely, if ever, turns out exactly how we expect. I’ve always tried to adopt the philosophy that I should make the best-tasting lemonade possible if life hands me lemons. For more than two and a half years, I was continually tossed lemons, but they finally resulted in some pretty great lemonade.

In March 2015, my left foot started bothering me, especially when I was running. I was training for IRONMAN Lake Placid, which was set to take place in July 2015. My foot responded to kinesio tape and chiropractic adjustment, so I didn’t think much of it. By May 2015, however, it hadn’t gotten better. I had an x-ray that was negative, so I made the choice to continue training, although I did reduce the amount I was running. In June 2015, my Achilles tendon started bothering me, which prompted me to stop running altogether. The Green Lakes Triathlon and IRONMAN 70.3 Syracuse were the only times I ran; I made a deal with myself that I’d run those and not at all again until IRONMAN Lake Placid. Two days after IRONMAN 70.3 Syracuse, I went to Upstate Orthopedics for an appointment with Ryan Bowser, PA. My objective of this visit was to get a prescription for physical therapy so I could safely complete IRONMAN Lake Placid. However, it wasn’t meant to be. I was diagnosed with a fracture of one of the sesamoid bones in my left foot. Ryan put me in a walking boot that day, and referred me to Dan DeMartini, PA since Dan specializes in lower extremity injuries.

A week later when I met with Dan, he put me on a complete non-weight-bearing restriction for my left foot. He wanted to put me into a hard cast, but I begged him not to, telling him that I swore that I was a compliant patient and that I wanted to be able to shower without much trouble. Dan agreed to trust me, and he let me stay in my walking boot as long as I used crutches. He told me that I absolutely could not do IRONMAN Lake Placid if I ever wanted to run again. To say I was devastated is putting it mildly. Dan told me that the risk of displacing this fracture was high, and that if I did displace it that I would need reconstructive surgery on my foot that involved removing the sesamoid bone (and therefore never running again). He told me that IRONMAN was not going to happen for me, but that if I listened to him and followed his instructions, that one day it might. This injury also put me on disability at work (I was employed as a Nuclear Security Officer at Nine Mile Point, and my position required me to be able to run).

During the summer of 2015, I obeyed all of my medical restrictions, sat my bum on my couch, watched every episode of Criminal Minds ever created, and my foot healed. In fact, when I had an x-ray in July 2015, Dan couldn’t see any sign of the original fracture and questioned whether the original x-ray and MRI had been read incorrectly (they hadn’t been read incorrectly; my compliance led to this fracture healing faster than he expected). Expecting to clear me 100% from this injury in early October 2015, Dan had me start off doing light weight-bearing activities (such as cycling, and walking around the mall in my work boots to simulate what I would have to do at work), and he cleared me to run again starting on September 18, 2015 when my custom orthotics arrived. I ran one mile that day, and then went on a bike ride with friends. I never made it back from that ride; I crashed and sustained an open, compound fracture to the radius and ulna of my left arm. Had I not broken my foot, I wouldn’t have broken my arm because I had been scheduled to work that day. However, since I was on disability, I was not at work that day. A “perfect storm” created the situation that led to this injury.

When I crashed, my left wrist was at my left elbow, my ulna was sticking out, and I was losing a decent amount of blood. Looking at my arm, I was instantly very annoyed that I would need a hard cast to repair this and that I wouldn’t be able to shower (after working so hard all summer to stay out of a hard cast so I could do just that). When I looked at the injury more closely, I realized that I would be lucky if I got to keep my arm; it was in bad shape. I asked the paramedics to transport me to Upstate University Hospital, which they did. I was taken in as a trauma patient, and though I had hit my head at approximately 18.5 mph, my helmet saved my brain and my life; the only major injury I had was the broken left arm. When I arrived and gave my Social Security Number to check-in, the nurse told me that I already had an open chart with Upstate Orthopedics. I replied that I knew that I did, that my foot was in the global phase of treatment, and that I was scheduled to see Dan for the last time in October 2015. The trauma team told me that although my fracture was rather extraordinary (so much so that they asked me for permission to take photos of it), they would be able to surgically repair the fractures. They “straightened” out my arm as best they could with traction (which wasn’t incredibly straight since it was so out of whack), and set me up for emergency surgery.

When I was taken to the operating room, I met Dr. Emil Azer. Dr. Azer walked in wearing scrubs and cowboy boots, which threw me off (I didn’t exactly expect a surgeon to operate in cowboy boots, ha!!). I was heavily medicated at this point - LOTS of pain meds - and though I mostly felt with it, I began to question how much I was really with it. I asked Dr. Azer if I would be in a splint or in a cast once I was out of surgery, because I very much wanted a blue cast if I was going to have a cast. Dr. Azer told me that I wasn’t going to have anything on my arm when I came out of surgery. I thought for sure I had misheard him, and he assured me that I hadn’t. The high levels of pain medications I was on made me extremely blunt: I asked Dr. Azer if he actually knew what he was doing; I hadn’t ever heard of a fracture being treated with anything other than external casts, etc. He laughed and told me that he did know what he was doing. He explained that he would be giving my arm the “best stabilization possible,” but that it would be metal, and that it would be on the inside of my arm. After taking a moment to consider this, I realized that he was actually making sense. The last thing I remember is seeing a giant X-Ray of my broken arm on a digital monitor in the operating room. I woke up several hours later with what I would soon start calling Vader Arm since it reminds me of when Anakin Skywalker destroyed his arm in Star Wars and had it revamped as he became Darth Vader.

The morning after I had surgery, a member of the surgical team came to my room to check on me and told me that things had gone well in surgery, but that I had sustained segmental loss to my ulna. He told me that I might end up needing a bone graft one day, but that it was a small enough piece that was missing and I was young enough that they felt that I had a good shot at bridging the gap in the bone on my own. I ended up staying at Upstate Hospital for a total of two nights, and the care that I received there was phenomenal. Everyone who I interacted with - the trauma team, the surgical team, the nursing staff, the staff on Floor 7A - was outstanding. I am vegan, and this was accommodated without question for all of my meals, which is something that I honestly didn’t expect. All of this made a stressful time in my life feel like so much less of a burden. I’ll always be grateful to everyone who helped me in those first few days.

This injury cost me my job as Nuclear Security Officer since I was restricted from shooting a firearm with my left hand (my ulna couldn’t absorb the recoil safely), which also effectively permanently terminated my ability to work in the security/law enforcement field. I ended up switching job tracts, but this injury has kept me out of work every time I have needed surgery since the jobs I have require the use of my left arm. All in all, I missed eight months of work due to breaking my arm (and 11 total months since I broke my foot). “Mundane” daily tasks such as cooking, opening jars, opening bags of chips, driving (and especially backing up a car), washing my hair, doing laundry, and grocery shopping have all been things that have turned into challenges that I’ve either had to relearn how to do or find a modified way to do them. My hand/arm doesn’t always respond to my neurological commands, and the top of my hand and fingers is always numb. With time, it’s possible that these symptoms will lessen, but for now, they remain a part of my daily life.

Breaking my arm put me on a complete activity restriction again for a bit. Four weeks after surgery, Dr. Azer allowed me to begin swimming, and eight weeks after surgery he allowed me to start running and ride a bike on an indoor trainer. Twelve weeks after surgery, I was cleared to ride a bike again outside. However, it was at that time that Dr. Azer also determined that my ulna was not healing. My radius was making progress (albeit slowly), but my ulna remained unchanged since September. I was also having issues with pronation and with nerve pain; Dr. Azer told me that he was at his limit for how he could help me and that he would have to refer me to one of his colleagues. He referred me to Dr. Joshua Pletka, who took over my care at the end of December 2015. Dr. Pletka rediagnosed my injury as a non-union fracture in March 2016, and after I had a nerve conduction test done in that same month, I was also diagnosed with lesions on my left median and anterior interosseous nerves. He told me that I would need surgery in order to attempt to fix the non-union fracture. We had a really candid conversation about what that would mean, and he told me that it was not medically necessary for me to have surgery immediately. I asked him if it would be safe for me to go through with my triathlon season, and he told me that it would be as long as I was mindful of how I was feeling, was exceptionally careful not to fall, and was on the lookout for symptoms that my hardware was failing. He told me he’d see me every 12 weeks throughout the season, and that we could schedule surgery after I ran the New York City Marathon in November 2016.

Over the course of 2016, I had a phenomenal race season. After having my goals and season taken away from me in 2015, I came back in 2016 with a newfound appreciation for my ability to participate in the sport I love so much. I set new personal best times, I got on podiums, and I covered so many miles with my friends. Despite the fact that my arm caused me constant pain, I was in awe that I could do so much with an arm that was still fractured. In January 2016, I completed the Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World (which is a 5K, 10K, half marathon, and full marathon on four consecutive days). In July 2016, IRONMAN was still on my mind, and even with the condition my arm was in, I knew I could complete that distance (a total of 140.6 miles) safely. I decided to sign up for IRONMAN Louisville, and after 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and 26.2 miles of running, I crossed the finish line and became an IRONMAN on October 9, 2016, which was also my 30th birthday. On November 6, 2016, I covered 26.2 miles in the greatest city in the world when I ran the New York City Marathon. The steel holding my arm together was not a limiter, it was an enabler, as it enabled me to reach so many goals. It’s ironic, really, that steel (and therefore a form of iron) enabled me to become an IRONMAN.

Also over that summer, friends of mine strongly recommended that I switch surgeons to Dr. Brian Harley. One of these friends is Dr. Michael Nancollas, who used to work at Upstate and trained Dr. Harley many years ago. I trusted my friends, and asked Dr. Harley to take me on as a patient, which he agreed to do. I started seeing Dr. Harley in October 2016, and I immediately trusted him. Though I could tell that he cared about my case, he didn’t mince words with me, and was exceptionally direct. That approach works well with me, so I knew that Dr. Harley was the right doctor for me.

At my first appointment with Dr. Harley, he told me that he actually couldn’t 100% tell if my ulna was not healed from the x-rays and CT scans I had had, but that he would need to go in and physically see it to make a final determination. He felt a less invasive procedure where he would harvest some bone from the proximal end of my elbow would be sufficient to fix the non-union if it needed a repair. On November 17, 2016, I had outpatient surgery at the Upstate Orthopedics Bone & Joint Center. Dr. Harley told me that there had been some gel-like material in between the bones, but that he cut it away, caused the bone to bleed again, inserted the bone graft, put in a new plate and screws, and sewed me up. He said that this procedure had an 80-90% success rate and that we would know in 3-6 months if it worked. And thus, Vader Arm 2.0 was born.

Dr. Harley was more restrictive this time around, and I wasn’t allowed to do much other than run for the first 12 weeks of my recovery. In January 2017, I was fairly certain that something was wrong; my arm felt “off” and was getting worse. X-rays taken in February 2017 confirmed that my ulna was not healing. Dr. Harley told me that my ulna was “putzing along” and that he wished he could tell me why it wasn’t healing. He scheduled me for a follow-up two months later and told me that if things weren’t better by then that I would need additional surgery. My arm got progressively worse, and by late March/early April 2017, it was clicking every time I tried to use it and was incredibly painful. When I saw Dr. Harley on April 17, 2017, he confirmed that the hardware had failed and was dislodging from the bone (hence the clicking I was feeling) and that the bone was splintering (which reclassified my diagnosis as a comminuted fracture). He told me that I needed surgery as soon as possible to fix this, that it would be a much more invasive procedure with a longer recovery this time around, and that I would need to be hospitalized for it. Knowing I couldn’t make my arm much worse, I asked him if I could please ride my bike outside until my surgery date. He gave me permission to do so, but told me, “Don’t do anything stupid.” One of my favorite things about Dr. Harley is that he’s a straight shooter who doesn’t pull any punches.

Surgery was scheduled for May 12, 2017 at Community General Hospital. During those final three weeks with Vader 2.0, my arm got to be so bad that I was actually looking forward to the surgery. When I arrived at Community General on May 12, I met the team of doctors that would be assisting with the surgery. One of my anesthesiologists, Dr. Catania, had a great personality, kept things light, and let me watch on ultrasound as he injected my brachial-plexus nerve complex with a nerve block. I found the entire thing fascinating. In surgery, Dr. Harley harvested three inches of bone from my left iliac crest and dovetailed it to put it into my arm (basically carving it into a “T” shape that resembles a Tetris piece). He also put in a locking plate that was much larger than its predecessors along with 12 locking screws. I spent the night in the hospital figuring out how best to exist with Vader Arm 3.0 (also known as Vader Tetris) and Jetfire the Hip (so named after a Transformer who donates his parts to Optimus Prime he can have a “power [he’s] never known”).

The day after my surgery, which was a Saturday, I was the last patient on the Orthopedics Floor (my nurse told me that all other patients had been discharged). I was completely shocked when Dr. Harley walked into my room. Knowing that there weren’t any other patients on the floor, I knew that I had to be his only patient there that day. Despite this, he still took time out of his Saturday to come and check on me. I remember thanking him for helping me and telling him that he was an excellent surgeon. When I said this, he told me that it hadn’t worked yet, and that I should reserve any thanks or praise. I then told him something that I still firmly believe: he made me feel at ease about something that probably would have been really intimidating and scary to a lot of people. His confidence and decisiveness with my case gave me confidence in his ability to help me, and out of everyone who I had interacted with thus far in this journey, he was the person I trusted most. I never second-guessed his plan of action or recommended course of treatment for me. The peace that comes from that is something that I cannot fully articulate in words, and I will always be thankful to him for making a stressful time in my life feel so much more peaceful.

The third surgery absolutely kicked my ass...there’s really no other “nicer” way to say it. After going through the recovery for the surgery that gave me Vader 3.0, I understand why Dr. Harley wanted to spare me this and why he chose to try the less invasive surgery first. I was in a decent amount of pain in both my arm and my hip and I felt incredibly sick, especially during those first few days. I walked with a limp for at least five weeks after surgery, and even five months after surgery, my hip still doesn’t feel 100% when I walk or run.

Two weeks after surgery, I had an appointment with a nurse to get the staples taken out of my arm; the staples had been removed from my hip the previous week. I noticed an issue with the incision at my hip; it looked like it was splitting open. I asked the nurse about it, and she told me that she’d go and see if Dr. Harley was available. She left me in the room with the door open, and I heard her start to say to Dr. Harley down the hall, “I don’t know if you remember or want to see her, but I have a 30-year-old female who has a forearm non-union who has a question about the incision at her iliac crest…” Dr. Harley interrupted her, saying, “I know who she is.” He walked into the room and said, “Hey Laura.” I wasn’t on his schedule that day, he didn’t have my chart in his possession, and yet he knew exactly who I was just from the little bit of information the nurse gave him. To say that I was impressed is putting it mildly. However, this wasn’t his exception; this is his rule. Every time I saw him, Dr. Harley knew exactly who I was, and remembered specific details about me without me having to reiterate things or ask a ton of questions. This absolutely sets Dr. Harley apart from most medical providers who I have ever interfaced with.

After the third surgery, Dr. Harley told me, “I don’t want you doing much with your arm”. When I asked him what his definition of “not doing much” is, he replied, “Probably not the same as yours.” And he was right. Dr. Harley kept me on a 100% non-use restriction for my left arm for the first 12 weeks after he created Vader 3.0, and he told me that I couldn’t have “anything to do with bikes whatsoever.” The waiting game started again, as I had another 3-6 months to wait to see if this surgery was successful at fixing my arm permanently. I saw Dr. Harley every 4-6 weeks during that timeframe to check in and see how my arm was progressing.

On October 27, 2017, I had a follow-up appointment to check on the status of Vader 3.0. After reading the x-rays taken that day, Dr. Harley said, “We got it.” I wasn’t quite sure I heard him correctly, so I asked, “Really?” Dr. Harley swiveled the monitor around so I could see, and showed me an x-ray that had an ulna with no sign of fracture. I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak. I never cried when I broke my arm, or due to the pain of any of my surgeries. But I did cry when I saw Dr. Harley’s smile and saw that x-ray.

110 weeks to the day after I initially broke my arm, Dr. Harley said I could resume all of my normal activities and told me, “Go do more productive things with your time than coming to see me every month.” He smiled and told me that if I ever needed anything again, that I’d know where to find him. And now, for the first time in two and a half years, I don’t have a follow-up appointment at Upstate Orthopedics. I can’t accurately articulate what that feels like, but it left me in a state of utter disbelief for the first 24 hours after I saw Dr. Harley that day.

For two years, one month, and nine days, I accepted that I had a broken arm. While I trusted my medical team and I did everything I could to help it heal, I never allowed myself to count my chickens before they hatched, especially once my diagnosis changed to a non-union fracture. Because I didn’t want to set myself up for disappointment, I honestly never dared to fully hope that all of this could actually end with the most positive outcome. I put all of my faith in Dr. Harley and I trusted that he would do the very best he could for me. And he did. Because of him, I have an almost fully functional left arm, which is more than I ever thought I’d have.

I will be grateful to Dr. Harley for the rest of my life.

Kristen is enjoying the good life now!
A mother’s story:

When Kristen was 5 years old, we took her to the pediatrician’s office for a sore throat. While there, they noticed one hip was higher than the other, so they promptly checked her back because they suspected scoliosis. We were then sent to one of our local hospitals for x-rays, which confirmed scoliosis and after a talk with our Pediatrician, he gave us a subsequent referral to the Syracuse hospital. Geez, we just thought she had strep throat! I wish it was only that.

Kristen’s first appointment in Syracuse was for a couple of MRI’s, and for a 5 year old, that’s pretty scary. But she was such a trooper and never moved during the MRI’s. In fact, the technician said she was the best patient he ever had! Well, the MRI revealed that Kristen had Chiari Malformation and after speaking with the doctor, he told us that Kristen needed skull surgery to fix the problem. Apparently, where her brain stem and spinal cord met, there was not enough room for the spinal fluid to recirculate back up to the brain, so it was accumulating in her spine like a slow-filling balloon. They had to make the hole/entry point in her skull larger to accommodate the fluid. The morning of her surgery was the scariest moment of our lives, but the staff at the hospital made everything easier to deal with and Kristen’s surgery went absolutely fine. Two weeks later, she was jumping off the couch again!

Flash forward a year and several checkups later. Although the skull surgery was a success, Kristen’s back wasn’t getting better so we were referred to Dr. Kathryn Palomino at Upstate Orthopedics. On March 5, 2010, Kristen was fitted with her first back brace to help manage her scoliosis. The hope was to keep the scoliosis from getting worse. Do you have any idea how hard it is to tell a kid to keep a back brace on for 18-20 hours a day? Her biggest fear was that her friends would make fun of her because of the brace, even though she wore it under her clothes and you couldn’t see it. Her friends were great and even helped her, but there were a couple of kids she still worried about. So, to ease her worries, I wrote a little book explaining what scoliosis was, including a picture of her x-ray and several pictures of celebrities with scoliosis. I then took this book to school and read it to Kristen’s 2nd grade classmates. The book helped the kids understand what Kristen was going through, and at the end we had every child try on Kristen’s back brace so they understood what she was going through. It was the best thing we could have done because it helped other kids understand the problem of scoliosis.

For the next four years, Kristen went through several back braces as she grew. Unfortunately, her growth spurts are what made the scoliosis worse. On January 23, Kristen received devastating news that she needed back surgery because her back was now at a 53 degree curvature. When we had additional x-rays in May, only four months later, her back had gotten worse, progressing to a 65 degree curvature!

We delayed her surgery to July 7, 2014 so Kristen could enjoy one last year of softball. You see, she was the pitcher for her town softball team with whom she played for roughly four years. After July 7th she would be unable to play any sports for one year so her back had time to heal.

One the morning of July 7th, we traveled to Golisano Children’s Hospital for surgery. We also decided to have her back ribs “shaved” due to the malformation (or better called a “hump”) that had occurred from the years of scoliosis. We were originally told the surgery could take up to 8 hours. We were shocked when they called us after 4 ½ hours that they were done with her surgery! Everything went fine! The hospital staff had her up and walking the next day and could not believe her determination and rate of recovery. While she was at home recovering, she did take the time to enjoy her other hobbies of crafts, drawing, light swimming and hanging out with her friends.

Kristen’s most recent appointment with Dr. Palomino on August 4, 2015 was the best appointment ever! Not only was her back healing fine, but her ribs are growing back nicely and to top it off, Kristen was cleared to play sports! On the way home, we bought Kristen a new pair of running sneakers because she can’t wait to to out for track! We’ve never been so happy to see our daughter run again, play and be free from the holds of scoliosis.

We never could have gotten through this without the help, patience and expertise of Dr. Palomino and the staff at Upstate Orthopedics. Kristen likes Dr. Palomino because she took the time to talk to her, didn’t rush her and made her feel like she really mattered. As parents, we like Dr. Palomino because she was honest, patient, intelligent, and selfless. She never spoke down to us like a lot of doctors will do. Dr. Palomino has her own teenage son, but still took the time to stop to see Kristen at the hospital at 7:30pm. Dr. Palomino saved our daughter from an uncertain future and we will never be able to repay her for that. From the bottom of our heart, thank you so much Dr. Palomino.

Kristen is enjoying the good life now! Jump for joy and run, Forrest, run!

Sincerely,
Kristen’s mom

They care. They remember us. And they always have time for us.

Learn more about Scott's surgeon,
Dr. Harley

Scott was in a household accident when he was 2-1/2 and he lost his right arm. During one of the most unimaginable times in their family's life, Scott's mother Jennifer was comforted by Upstate Orthopedics. "You know a practice by how people represent that office and there was never a moment where we were talked to like there wasn't time for us. The staff, nurses and Dr. Harley were beyond amazing. Sporting a smile a mile wide, there isn't anything Scott can't do or try now, and it's because of the expertise and attention from Upstate Orthopedics."

We weren't understood until we were at Upstate Orthopedics

Stefania is a Polish immigrant who brought her daughter to America for a chance at a great education, and that chance almost had to be sacrificed when Stefania became debilitated. "Other doctors told us that nothing could be done," her daughter Ewa shares. "Dr. Scerpella, from the very first visit, confidently instilled hope and made a connection with us. She promised us that we'd get through it and that my mom would get better. And she did - better physically for sure, but above all, this proud, independent woman was better emotionally."

Upstate Orthopedics means business

Learn more about Sara's surgeon,
Dr. Loftus

Sara was only 12 when her arm was severed in a farming accident. The doctors locally claimed it couldn't be saved, but her mother pushed and got Sara to Upstate, nearly 3 hours away. After a 14-1/2 hour surgery by Dr. Loftus, her arm was reattached.

Some of her peers picked on her once she was well enough to return to school after the accident, but she paid them no mind and considered her scars "beauty scars." "Everything happens for a reason," shes shares with a bright smile and a positive attitude.

Now seeing Sara years into recovery holding her newborn son in the very arm that others said couldn't be saved...well, there's one reason right there. Without Upstate Orthopedics, it would not have been possible.

Connection is everything

Learn more about Mike's surgeon,
Dr. Cannizzaro

Mike Felice played lacrosse for SUNY Cortland and was part of the 2006 National Championship team. (Below you'll see him scoring the winning goal!) Dr. Cannizzaro from Upstate Orthopedics was the team physician for the entire four years Mike was at Cortland and saw him through many injuries. "Knee, ankle, a couple concussions – you name it!" Mike laughs. Dr. Cannizzaro performed Mike's ACL surgery right after college and helped him realize that he didn't need to rush his recovery – he needed to put things in perspective, take care of himself and get better properly.

"Upstate Orthopedics is completely different. I don't go in and feel like they're just there to see me and throw me out the door, like other places I've been to. There's this CONNECTION here. They don't just focus on what's wrong, they want to know more about who you ARE. And to an athlete – or any patient – that means everything."

Meghan

Meghan Page had knee surgery at Upstate Orthopedics when she was a teenager. Now on her feet all day as a nurse, she can't help but wonder if it would have been possible without the excellent care she received.

Jake

Jake Halter was 12 when his knees started locking up. His time as a baseball catcher came to a halt due to the excrutiating periods of pain and immobility and a fear of physical activity. After surgery at Upstate Orthopedics, he was finally able to "not think about it and just DO."