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with what the patient actually needs . That is a major skill that you have to learn .”
Throughout training , she remained in contact with mentors and colleagues in Louisville and the timing clicked perfectly : they were looking to hire a pediatric orthopedist just as she ’ d be finishing fellowship . With her and Darren ’ s families in Louisville , they ’ d always hoped to come back , and this was a great opportunity .
She started with Children ’ s Orthopedics of Louisville , a Norton physician group , in 2011 and has been with them ever since . She splits her time with surgery and outpatient clinic , and what they call “ fracture clinic ” one day a week and sports injuries the other two days . She doesn ’ t do as much general pediatric orthopedics anymore , as she has shifted her focus toward trauma and sports .
“ Thirty to 40 % of my practice is pure trauma . From falling off the monkey bars , getting hurt on the trampoline , getting tackled wrong playing football , anything like that . If there ’ s an ATV wreck , or a lawnmower injury , anywhere in the western half of the state or southern Indiana , I ’ m responsible for getting that fixed ,” she said . “ I ’ ve been doing this long enough that I don ’ t get surprised much , but it still takes time and a step back sometimes to figure out how you ’ re going to fix what ’ s in front of you .”
On the sports side , the most common things she sees are overuse injuries , and she does a lot of patella instability surgeries and ACL surgeries . Both surgeries are highly specialized , and while training
for these surgeries has grown , there are still only a few physicians locally performing these surgeries for pediatric patients . In all of these cases , her driving force is tied to the thrill of successfully completing a challenge .
“ It ’ s the winning . Taking someone who has an injury that could have kept them out of sports , or ended their career , or given them really early disability , and fixing or preserving that joint for 30 or 40 more years , that ’ s really satisfying , and those patients are usually really , really happy ,” she said . “ Sometimes it ’ s tough because you don ’ t get the outcome you want for whatever reason , which can be really hard and can really burn sports medicine docs out when you don ’ t win . That ’ s part of why I like peds , because they have better healing potential than adults do , so your overall outcomes tend to be a lot better .”
She also serves as the sideline physician for the Western High School football team , and is there for all home games , treating things like head injuries , airway issues , acute injuries and offering medical advice .
Her competitive nature doesn ’ t stop in the OR , though , and she hasn ’ t lost her love of swimming . Last summer , she swam the English Channel in 60-degree water full of jellyfish ( on a relay with five other people , she insisted on clarifying – still impressive !). She has completed a few ratified swims , such as the “ Four Bridges Swim ” locally , which is about 10 miles from the Lewis & Clark East End Bridge to the Clark Memorial Bridge downtown . Annually around New Year ’ s Day , she crosses the Ohio River ( in approximately 40-de-
36 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE