GREAT
POSITION
Experts at the Glen E. and Rita K. Roney Bone and Joint Institute and
McLane Children’s Hospital help a young athlete win a tough battle
the left wing of the
Woden Public School Lady
Eagles basketball squad
in Nacogdoches, Texas, 14-year-old
Madyson Smithhart knows a team
effort when she sees one. This past
spring, the ladies won first place in the
girls’ basketball tournament, reversing
the bad luck they had experienced
during the previous season. Madyson
has cheered her team’s triumphs and
mourned its losses over the years, but
that has been nothing compared to
As
18
The Catalyst November 13 | sw.org
what the teenager herself had to endure
until recently. In 2012, she would find
a team of her own to help her overcome
the biggest test of her life—a painful
and rare bone condition.
It all began in kindergarten,
with searing pain when Madyson
bumped her elbow. A physician in
a local emergency room diagnosed
her with a hairline fracture and put
her elbow in a cast. But the pain
continued. An orthopedic surgeon
later diagnosed a cyst in Madyson’s
“My arm feels good.
Basketball is good.
It’s so fun to play,
and now it’s easier
than before.”
—Madyson Smithhart