Eye on Health: Beacon orthopedic team helps EMT return to serving her community
For EMT Katie Ohda, living in pain wasn’t an option.
Katie’s shoulder problems began when she was a high school freshman and a dedicated softball player. She waited nearly five years before seeking help. By then, the labrum in her shoulder was completely torn. A prior surgery hadn’t worked, and she tried to push through the pain to finish her senior softball season in college while also serving her community as an EMT. Her body had other plans.
“So that really kind of put crew safety, patient safety, my own safety at risk,” Katie said. “And so I had to be able to step back and say, ‘No, this is important for me to get this done.'”
She was referred to Dr. LeeAnne Torres, an orthopedic sports medicine surgeon with Beacon Bone & Joint Specialists in South Bend. After updated scans confirmed the extent of her recurrent labral tear, Dr. Torres performed arthroscopic surgery, a procedure using tiny incisions.
“Her symptoms exceeded beyond what rehabilitation and all the physical therapy we did with her could maintain. We got updated scans to see the extent of her recurrent labral tear. We ultimately had proceeded with surgery and it was a long course for her, but she really did outstanding overall,” Dr. Torres said.
The demands of Katie’s job soon surfaced another problem: a torn labrum in her hip. She called Dr. Torres again and underwent a second surgery, nearly identical to the first.
“So it’s kind of crazy to think back from like a year ago. I was laying in a bed unable to move without crutches and a lot of help. And now I’m again meeting my goals like serving my community and helping my community, and that is just everything to me,” Katie said.
A year later, Katie credits her recovery to sticking with rehabilitation and physical therapy, something Dr. Torres pointed to as well.
“She soared. I mean, she stands out today as one of the patients that came in very early with relief that I would not necessarily have anticipated as quickly as she did. And she had lived in such pain from the extent of how bad the pathology was in each joint for so long,” Dr. Torres said.
Dr. Torres reminds others that you don’t have to live in pain.
Today Katie is a year out from her hip surgery, back on the job and moving freely, something she’s wanted from day one.
Watch the full Eye on Health segment from WSBT 22 below.
