Season of Celebration: Deanna's Story
When Deanna Lowe and her husband Richard travelled to San Diego to visit their daughter – they had no idea their journey would bring them to St. Joseph’s Hospital. But that’s what happened.
An active person, Lowe took advantage of the California sunshine and went mountain biking. Turning down an unfamiliar street, she hit a rut, flipped her bicycle and flew through the handle bars. Her arm and hand received the full force of the fall as she landed on a cement sidewalk.
A good Samaritan came to her aide, assisting her to her daughter’s home. A visit to an emergency room confirmed everyone’s fears – she had a dislocated and smashed elbow and a triangular tear in her wrist. She needed surgery – immediately. The goal was to maintain the use of Lowe’s arm. Five days later, Lowe was in a brace from her knuckles right to her shoulder. She would endure the contraption for seven weeks.
In constant pain, Lowe was unable to dress or eat without help, wash her face or even do her hair. Gardening – a long-time passion - was put on the backburner, as were all her regular activities. Most disheartening, postoperative medical appointments revealed that the surgery was not a success and further procedures were needed if she was going to regain use of her arm. Lowe felt lost. She didn’t know where or how to find a physician who could help her. An auspicious conversation with the receptionist at her doctor’s office, however, would lead her to Dr. Graham King and the Hand and Upper Limb Centre (HULC) at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
Lowe contacted Dr. King and was ecstatic to receive a call back almost immediately. An appointment followed. It didn’t take long for Lowe to know she had made the right decision to call St. Joseph’s. “I just sat back in my chair and heaved a big sigh of relief; I knew that I had found the right doctor.”
Time is of the essence with Lowe’s type of injury and her surgery was scheduled immediately. The full radial head of her elbow was replaced, as were two ligament releases. Four days later, Lowe went home and rehabilitation began. Determined to regain the use of her arm and start living life again, Lowe focused her full attention on intensive physiotherapy. She worked with a physiotherapist in her home town of Amherstburg and traveled to St. Joseph’s once a month for additional therapy and follow-up.
Lowe says she will never stop singing the praises of Dr. King and the HULC team. “The care at St. Joseph’s is superb. Everyone is so caring, understanding and sympathetic. And everyone acts as though they are going to give you their whole day’s time. They really, really listen to your concerns; it is obvious that they are there to help you and do everything in their power to better your life.
“It’s hard to find the words to express how much they did for me. The accident changed my life – without the clinic and Dr. King, I would not be where I am today.”
Lowe has regained 90 per cent use of her arm and is back doing all things that bring joy to her life – gardening, exercising, and travelling. This past summer, she even started biking again.
The 2010 Season of Celebration campaign is raising funds for therapy and rehabilitation equipment used in the Hand and Upper Limb Centre for people like Deanna. Your donation will ensure that the equipment is there for people when they need it most.
For more information call the Light Line at 519 646-6085
