Thank you doesn’t even begin to cover what I want to say.

This past Saturday, October 8th… less than 9 months after lying in a hospital bed in ICU recovering from the first of what would end up being 6 surgeries Dr. Fishler performed on my legs… I finish a sprint triathlon. I jogged/ran the entire 5K in a much faster time than I thought might ever be possible. When I finally comprehended that I had been hit by a car and that I had two badly broken legs as well as a broken neck, I thought maybe I could accept if I could just walk without aide again. I figured that maybe my biking and swimming would hopefully come back since they are lower impact activities, but I prepared myself for not being able to run ever again. Now just 9 months later, I am doing that. My stride isn’t where it was before the accident yet nor is the pace or distance, but I continue to see improvements on almost a daily basis. When I first talked to my brother-in-law, who is a radiologist, he asked me if had seen the initial x-rays of my legs. I told him I hadn’t. He said that given how mal-aligned my knee and ankle were in the initial x-rays, it was amazing that you were able to align them so well. So thank you not only for doing that and saving my leg but for coming and talking with my family before and after each surgery and when I was finally conscious and able to listen and understand, talking with me and explaining exactly what you were going to do. You made me feel like it was okay to ask you anything and you wouldn’t laugh at how stupid my question might be and would explain it so I could understand. Also, thank you for not saying, “no you can’t do that”; for believing I would be back and could be back doing what I enjoy, and also giving me the early release to bear weight and saying it was okay to fall. Having you behind me helped extinguish the doubts I had and allowed to focus on getting stronger and getting back at it instead of having doubt/question what I was doing. After talking with others who like to exercise and have been derailed by major injuries, I’m very fortunate that I had you and your team putting me back together and giving direction for my recovery.