Preface
“Dr. Schneider, this is Karen Lambert and I’m calling from Belize. You
fixed my shoulder a few years ago and I’m dealing with an awful
emergency.” The phone line crackled and gapped, credibly confirming the
Central American origin. “My husband and I are on an eco-tour vacation,
and two days ago at a zip line park, his harness broke and he fell twenty
feet. His elbow dislocated and broken bones were sticking out of his arm.”
Karen went on to explain that her husband, Mark, had been shuttled to a
small hospital in a nearby town, but that she had not been allowed to see
him since he was admitted forty-eight hours before. The local doctor had
reduced the elbow (aligning the joint and broken bones) but had not
operated. Frantic, she pleaded for help to extricate her husband from the
unsophisticated infirmary and convey him to the United States.
My team and I sprang into action, and working with a local air
ambulance company, facilitated transport to Denver the next day on a
private jet staffed with nurses. An ambulance met them at Denver
International Airport, and after rushing him to my level one trauma center,
we prepared for emergency surgery at 2:00 A.M.
All day long I had prepared for the worst. I was worried about a life-
threatening infection, and knew for certain that loss of his arm was a
distinct possibility. At best, I was hoping that we could minimize lifelong
disability and hope for reasonable function. When I met with Mark and
Karen in the pre-op holding area, they looked understandably exhausted
and emotionally empty. Mark was lying on a gurney in a white surgery
smock; Karen was still wearing the logoed travel company T-shirt, khaki
shorts, and adventure sandals. Just as I was about to give them “the big
talk” about doing our best to save his arm, Mark looked up at me with
travel-weary eyes and informed me:
“I want to be able to play softball this summer and I don’t want scars.”