Central Carolina HEALTH - Fall 2011 - (Page 10)

Role Reversal Pediatrician turns patient after a Christmas accident (OT) is not exclusively about getting someone back to work, for pediatrician Cary Keifer, MD, it did just that. During Christmas week last year, Dr. Keifer left Central Carolina Hospital after her rounds and returned to her pediatric practice. The While occupational therapy wonders of that white Christmas also brought icy pavement to our area, and when Dr. Keifer got out of her car, she slipped and fell in her office parking lot. She broke her wrist in several places and also suffered a concussion. She still doesn’t remember the ride to the emergency room but knows that fellow pediatrician Tammy Lloyd, MD, drove her there. Several Steps to Surgery Dr. Keifer recalls that while her pain was well-managed in the ER, she was not able to have the necessary surgery until her memory returned to normal. In the meantime, the on-call orthopedic surgeon administered a hematoma block and put her fracture in place temporarily until it could be properly fixed in the operating room. The following day—after the all-clear in regard to the concussion—she was able to undergo surgery to repair the distal radius fracture. Plates and screws were placed in her right arm, which was then placed in a cast. Healing takes time The injury put Dr. Keifer out of work for about six weeks while she regained use of her wrist. She tried the “let-it-heal-on-its-own method” but was unsatisfied with the results. “As a pediatrician, I have to be able to hold infants safely and turn them over, which requires wrist strength. At that point, I couldn’t even turn over a bottle of shampoo or even brush my hair,” she remembers. 10 | FA L L 2 0 1 1 Pediatrician D, Cary Keifer, M with a young patient

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Central Carolina HEALTH - Fall 2011

Central Carolina HEALTH - Fall 2011
From the CEO
Contents
Health Beat
Ladies First
Role Reversal
Health Smart
Q+A
Smaller Portions, Bigger Success

Central Carolina HEALTH - Fall 2011