12 DAYS OF GIVING ~ GRATEFUL PATIENT SPOTLIGHT

………………………………..

Grateful patient Dennis Whittaker’s care was ‘off the hook’

………………………………..

Unless you look closely, you can’t see the scar that reminds Dennis Whittaker of his experience with the Brant Community Healthcare System. He believes it was the commitment of the medical and rehabilitation staff that helped him to recover from a workshop injury with moderate residual damage.

Dennis’ emergency happened in his home garage one morning while he was cutting trim for a project in the home where he lives with his wife Sharon. Dennis was using a drop saw to make his cut and as he reached to move the wood with his left hand, the teeth of the blade caught his coat sleeve, drawing his arm into the path of the spinning blade.

“Right when it happened, I knew it was bad,” said Dennis.

He knew to keep pressure on the wound and made his way to the house to get Sharon’s attention. He held his left wrist with his right hand and tried to ring the doorbell with the fingers of his left hand. The finger wouldn’t work. So Dennis used his foot to bang on the door and when Sharon opened it to him, he said, “I think it’s bad,” and asked her to call for an ambulance.

Sharon, a retired nurse, said the paramedics who arrived were wonderful and helped to calm them both. After wrapping the wound tightly, Dennis was transported to the Brantford General Emergency Department.

“The longest wait in the hospital was registering, and it wasn’t that long at all,” said Dennis.

The Emergency Department physician quickly assessed Dennis’ situation and explained that the wound needed to be cleaned and that Dennis would require surgery to repair the damage.

The afternoon was spent with medical staff cleaning the fibres of his coat out of the wound.

“The pain wasn’t excruciating, but it was pretty close,” said Dennis.

The saw blade had cut through four tendons, halfway around his wrist and to the bone.

“I thought, being a nurse, that he would have surgery that night,” said Sharon, but surgery was scheduled for a few days later after the soft tissue had some time to heal. Dennis’ wound was sutured closed and he was sent home wearing a special bandage to keep his wrist held firmly in a position to eliminate the stress on his already fragile tendons.

Dr. Sam Parbhakar, a plastic surgeon, took on Dennis’ case.

Dr. Parbhakar had seen the X-ray images of Dennis’ arm but hadn’t seen the wound itself. Due to the shape of the teeth on the blade, Dennis’ wound had rough edges, as opposed to the smooth edges that would have resulted if the cut had been made by a knife blade. It was going to take some work to reconstruct the tendons and repair the severed nerves.

“Before we started, he warned me that I may not have full use of my hand,” said Dennis.

With the support of his medical team, Dennis set goals for his own recovery. By New Year’s Eve, about 10 weeks later, he wanted to be able to pick up a glass of champagne with his left hand. He met that goal.

Another goal was to be able to bring his left thumb and forefinger together.

“I love fishing,” said Dennis. “I told him what I wanted to be able to do by this summer was bait my hook. I said, ‘If I can bait my hook, you’re off the hook.’ He laughed.”

Dennis’ first surgery was an exploratory look at the damage that had been done.

“It was a mess,” said Dennis, who had expected that first surgery would have been to repair the injury.

A second, longer surgery was scheduled for a couple of weeks later.

During both surgeries, Sharon was kept up to speed on what was going on in the Operating Room. A nurse found her waiting near the end of the four-hour surgery and explained the procedure was almost complete and that Dennis was doing well. Later, the anesthetist found her to give her an update, and then Dr. Parbhakar spoke to her and explained that in order to repair some of the tendons in Dennis’ wrist, he’d transplant tendons from the underside of his forearm.

“Everyone was so kind and professional,” said Sharon.

Dennis wore a special brace after his surgery and was able to begin rehabilitation therapy as soon as the doctor felt the tendons had knit back together.

“For all that, open wound and everything, I had no infection,” said Dennis. “I was so pleased with how everything went.”

Dennis began to see Brooke Stewart, an Occupational Therapist at the Brantford General, once a week for the next five months.

She helped Dennis to attain his goals for recovery and while he credits her with his progress, Brooke told him, “You did all the work. I just told you what to do.”

Brooke also stressed the importance of doing exercises at home in addition to their weekly sessions, or his progress would experience setbacks. At 10 months post-injury, Dennis was able to hold his left hand out flat, but couldn’t raise his fingers from that position.

“I had no expectations of throwing a football or anything, but we have met or surpassed the expectations I had,” said Dennis.

“We’re just very happy with everything,” added Sharon.

As Dennis and Sharon have learned first-hand, when crisis or illness impacts you or a loved one, the Brant Community Healthcare System is here to offer you exceptional healthcare in your time of need.

Now is the time to make a difference, please consider making a gift today that is meaningful to you, and support a strong healthcare system for our community.

Your involvement, through a donation of any size, will allow the BCHS Foundation to purchase patient equipment not funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, provide essential resources to maintain the exceptional level of compassionate patient care, and invest in new and innovative technology.

To make a donation, visit the BCHS Foundation website at bchsysfoundation.org or call 519-751-5510.

 

---

 To make a secure donation online, click here:

[maxbutton id=”12″]

For more information on how you can make a donation or offer your support to the 12 Days of Giving campaign, please contact the BCHS Foundation at 519-751-5510 or by email at foundation@bchsys.org

NOW is the time to make a difference, please consider making a gift today that is meaningful to you, and support a strong healthcare system for our community.

Thank you to our many generous sponsors!

COMMUNITY PARTNER:

SUPPORTING SPONSOR:

.

Please support the Brant Community Healthcare System Foundation

When crisis or illness impacts you or a loved one, the BCHS is here for you in your time of need. 

Your gift today could help save a life tomorrow.