Yvette's story - distal radius fracture
Yvette was at home right before Christmas when she tried climbing on a chair to change a light bulb. The chair shifted, and when she tried to use her left hand to catch herself, she broke her wrist. “It looked and felt like my hand had broken off of my arm!” She was seen in the ER where she was diagnosed with a comminuted (multiple pieces) and impacted (the pieces were driven into each other by the force of the injury) fracture of the distal radius (one of the forearm bones at the wrist). Her fracture was stabilized in the ER and was referred to Joon Ahn, MD at the Orthopaedic Center of Southern Illinois (OCSI).
Because the office was closed for the Christmas holiday, she called for an appointment on the morning of December 26th and was given an appointment that day. When she was seen and surgery was recommended, she says that Dr. Ahn offered to perform the surgery that afternoon so that she wouldn't have to wait for him to get back from a previously scheduled vacation. When I first came here, I didn’t know him. I didn’t know this place. The first time I met Dr. Ahn, he had the friendliest face and the friendliest smile and he made me feel confident that he could do the job.
Yvette was pleased with her post-op rehabilitation. She was treated by the Occupational Therapy staff at OCSI. They made a custom splint for me after surgery and were able to make adjustments to it as my swelling went down. I thought Kim,OTR/L did a great job educating me. I was given papers to take home that explained the exercises I need to work on outside of therapy and she gave me the tools I needed in order to work on my wrist at home.
As bad as my arm looked when I broke it and as slowly as we had to progress during my rehabilitation, I will tell you that I am thrilled that I can move my fingers! I was able to regain good range of motion and to return to work. I think my scar looks fabulous - by next year I may not even be able to see it.
Yvette says that she has already recommended OCSI, Dr. Ahn, and our rehabilitation department to friends. About Dr. Ahn, she says, "I trusted him immediately and I am so glad that the ER staff recommended him. I can't say enough about him because I think he did a really good job. He made me feel comfortable."
