“font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;”>Jean Patrickson, the Haitian boy brought to St. Louis to save his leg that was severely injured in last year’s earthquake, oftentimes moves faster than most people do with two healthy legs.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>You last saw him in The American in March, 2010, in a wheelchair after undergoing a fibular osteotomy. The surgery started a process to move a piece of bone from his fibula (skinny lower leg bone) to replace the part of his tibia (shinbone) that was shattered in last year’s earthquake in Haiti. Doctors in Haiti had removed it prior to Jean coming to the U.S. and he could not stand or move unassisted and faced amputation.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Over the past year, physicians and staff at St. Louis Shriners’ Hospital for Children have helped Patrickson recuperate and rebuild bone and strength in his leg. Although much of his leg is reconstructed, Dr. J. Eric Gordon, an orthopedic surgeon operated on Jean’s leg again last month.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Right now, we are trying to get the upper two parts of the bone to fuse, so we put three screws in there and some bone graft,” Gordon says. “Up around close the knee did not fuse up in there as we had hoped to and we had done one procedure earlier to try to kind of get that area in there to fuse and heal and now that really hasn’t laid down that much bone in there.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Gordon said the bone has fused at the ankle, and his foot is in good position, allowing Jean to walk.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“We are looking forward to hopefully getting the fixator off sometime in the next couple of months,” the doctor said.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The fixator is the brace that is adjusted several times a day to move the excised bone to its new location.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Jean, who spoke little English a year ago, now speaks it quite well.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>He is known to be quite the jokester at home, school and around the hospital.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Ooh, good shot – I dunked,” Patrickson says while admiring photos taken during his physical therapy session.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“You’re not supposed to be styling – you’re supposed to be doing physical therapy,” laughs Becky McFarland, a physical therapist at Shriners. Playing basketball shifts weight back and forth from one leg to the other – strengthening his limbs.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>If a preteen can have a swagger for the camera while having a brace on his leg in physical therapy, Jean Patrickson makes it happen. With fixator in place, Patrickson gets enjoys activities that many St. Louis children and adults enjoy. This winter, for the first time, Jean went sledding in the snow down Northmore Hill with other children. His experience posted on You Tube, to the tune of the Disney song, “Hakuna Matata,” the Swahili phrase meaning “there are no worries.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Patrickson seemed eager to complete his work as a patient so he could get back to the day’s business of being a student.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“School is great,” Patrickson says.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Science is his favorite subject, but this day, other subjects were on the agenda.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I’m going to study social studies, writing, reading and other stuff.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>When questioned about future career choices, Patrickson said, in Caribbean style,
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“No problem – I think I want to be a doctor.”
