Patient overcomes devastating accident and injuries through expert care at Beacon

Three years ago, Grace Schultz was on her motorcycle, riding down a busy street. She was just running a quick errand, picking something up from her husband at work. But in a matter of seconds, everything changed.

An SUV pulled out unexpectedly in front of her. Grace swerved to avoid it, but there wasn’t enough time. “The second before the impact, I didn’t think I was going to be around to tell another story,” she said.

When Grace woke up, she was lying on the pavement, and her husband was running toward her.

But he wasn’t the only family member she was thinking of. Grace was three months pregnant with their third child at the time, a week shy of her second trimester.

When she arrived at Memorial Hospital, doctors quickly performed emergency surgery to stabilize her injuries and protect her pregnancy.

Then, over the next two weeks, Grace had four more surgeries.

Her injuries were extensive: She had crushed her left foot, broken her pelvis in multiple places and shattered her left arm. To save her mobility and give her the best chance at recovery, her Beacon trauma surgeons performed a series of complex procedures.

Because so much bone was lost in her wrist from the accident, doctors fused her wrist by grafting part of the fibula bone from her lower leg to her arm, which allowed Grace to use her hand and fingers again.

They also had to amputate her left leg below the knee given the severity of her injuries.

Dr. Joel Post

Through it all, Dr. Joel Post, orthopedic surgeon, Beacon Bone & Joint Specialists, stayed with her.

“He’s fantastic,” Grace said. “He’ll do everything he can to give you the most mobility and save whatever he can.”

Dr. Post recognized early on that Grace was determined to fight.

“When I met Grace, I knew quickly that she was going to do everything she could to try to get back to an active lifestyle,” Dr. Post said. “We discussed her severe injuries, risks to her unborn child and agreed upon the series of complex surgeries to balance her short and long-term goals.”

He continued to supporte her through recovery, adjusting hardware in her arm later on to make life more comfortable.

Recovery wasn’t easy, but Grace had made a choice long before the accident that helped guide her. “No matter what happens to me in life, I’m not going to let it make me a worse person.”

It was a decision that would carry her through some of her hardest days after her accident.

“You don’t realize how much you depend on your body until you can’t anymore,” Grace said. “When you’re going through something like this, you gotta take it one day at a time.”

There were setbacks. There was pain. But there were also little victories, small moments of progress that gave her hope.

“There were days where I was feeling disheartened, but then I would do something I couldn’t do a week ago. You can refresh your spirit if you look at the little stuff.”

Grace spent 27 days at Memorial Hospital inpatient rehabilitation unit before going home. She began physical therapy in a wheelchair. She learned how to use her left arm again and rebuilt strength in her legs.

Dr. Christopher Ketcham

Grace worked closely with Dr. Christopher Ketcham, medical director of Memorial inpatient rehabilitation, Beacon Bone & Joint Specialists, as she prepared for her first prosthetic. The team helped her desensitize her nerves near the amputation site, and she wore a special sock to help reduce swelling in her leg so it was the right size for her first prosthetic.

“With excellent collaboration between the Orthopedics, Trauma, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, we were able to get Grace admitted to our rehabilitation unit where she was able to spend time learning to mobilize and care for herself and an amputee,” Dr. Ketcham said.

“Since Memorial’s rehabilitation unit is located within Memorial Hospital, she was able to be checked in on not just by the orthopedics and trauma teams but also by the OBGYN service to monitor her baby while she was able to recover,” he added.

Six months after the accident, she took her first steps with a prosthetic leg.

One month later, she gave birth.

“She’s a spitfire,” Grace said about her healthy baby girl. “It was off to the races after that.”

Today, Grace is back to doing what she loves. She is raising her three kids, working hard for the Indiana Department of Transportation, and yes, even riding motorcycles.

“As a smaller person with a disability, it’s not always super easy, but I figure it out,” she said. Whether it’s using a forklift to maneuver objects, or finding creative ways to get the job done, she adapts and moves forward.

She also found strength in the Life after Limb Loss community support group.

“No matter how dark you might feel once in a while, things will get better,” Grace said. “I still ride motorcycles. I have three kids. It only stops you if you let it.”

Grace has worked incredibly hard over the last few years since her accident, Dr. Post said.

“It hasn’t been a short or easy journey, but I couldn’t be happier for her recovery,” Dr. Post said. “She is walking, working, taking care of her kids and engaged with the local amputee community. She is a testament to strength, commitment and determination to make the most of a challenging and uncertain situation.”

With the help of expert providers at Beacon Health System, a strong support system, and her own determined spirit, she didn’t just recover. Grace rebuilt her life, one step at a time.

Learn more

When your daily life and routines have changed because of bone fractures, joint, muscle or tendon pain, it’s time to see the experts. Beacon Bone and Joint Specialists provide expert orthopedic care while helping you get back to doing what you love.