A Runner ’s Comeback: From Multiple Fractures to a 50-Mile Race
Treatment TermsOrthopaedicsAnkle pain and ankle injurySports medicine
CategoriesFamily health
Author
MaryAnn Fletcher
Overview
In April 2017, Harry Mendez Jr. crossed the finish line of a 50-mile race, exhausted but triumphant. The 35-year-old Durham resident had completed triathlons and endurance events before, but none had demanded the strength, commitment, and perseverance this one had. Just nine months earlier, he ’d been in Duke University Hospital, pins and rods holding his lower left leg together, wondering if he’d ever run again.
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ContentIt started with when he set out for a bicycle ride. “I put my foot down to balance myself. My bike cleats--those shoes that clip into your bike pedals--got stuck in the pavement, and I fell over,” Mendez said. “When I went to get up, I couldn’t. I looked down, and my foot was just dangling.”
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A Surgical Solution
ContentDr. Reilly was one of nine Duke orthopaedic surgeons--includingfoot-and-ankle andsports-medicine experts--who looked at Mendez ’s X-rays and CT scan and consulted on his case. The following week, when the swelling had subsided, Dr. Reilly performed surgery to repair his fractures. This included inserting a rod called an intramedullary nail down the center of his shinbone, then placing screws at the...
Source: dukehealth.org: Duke Health News - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: mf205 at duke.edu Source Type: news
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