Patient Testimonials - Rachel

Vienna – Broken Wrist

During an energetic game of “monkey bar tag” with her elementary school classmates in Vienna last year, Rachel fell and broke her right wrist. It was a familiar injury. Three years earlier, she had broken the same wrist while skiing. But this time, the 11-year-old 6th grader didn’t want to spend eight weeks in a cast as she did with her first injury, missing out on her favorite activities.

“Rachel is a year-round swimmer and a talented artist who loves to draw,” her mother Ginger says. “Losing the use of her right hand for two months was something we hoped to avoid.”

When a neighbor recommended Rachel go to Commonwealth Orthopaedics, Ginger was surprised. She and her husband were patients of Mark Madden, MD, but they had no idea Commonwealth cared for children, too. She took Rachel to see Charles Lefton, MD, a general orthopaedist with special expertise in pediatrics. He set Rachel’s wrist in his office and put her in a cast. Then he gave her some good news: the cast could come off in just three weeks.

“Dr. Lefton was wonderful with Rachel,” Ginger recalls. “He said all the right things to ease her fears and give her confidence. The minute he set her wrist the pain went away and she was happy. When he told her she’d only have to wear the cast for three weeks, she was thrilled.”

Just as Dr. Lefton promised, Rachel’s cast came off after three weeks and she was able to get right back to her swimming and other activities. She is now a healthy and happy 7th grader at Thoreau Middle School in Vienna and looks forward to a future career in the art world.

“Thanks to the great care she received at Commonwealth Orthopaedics, Rachel is back 100 percent and busy with her friends, her sports, and her drawing,” Ginger says. “I feel so fortunate to have this wonderful resource for my family here in the community.”