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CHOOSE WELL: A Quarterly Newsletter from Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital, Spring 2009
Connections Between Navy Diving Unit and Heartland Lead to Successful Surgery for Commander's Wife
What's the connection between the Navy Experimental Diving Unit and Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital? More specifically, why did Jenn Matthews, wife of the Experimental Diving Unit's Commander, travel from the base in Panama City, Florida to Kansas for spine surgery with Heartland founder Dr. William Reed?
Matthews says there are lots of connections and they all added up to one great outcome - quick recovery from successful surgery for a five-year disc problem.
The Heartland connection to the Navy Experimental Diving Unit
After on-and-off problems with a ruptured disc, three doctors recommended back surgery for Matthews, but the recovery sounded too painful and prolonged to the active mother of four. Her brother, an Army helicopter pilot who lives in Lansing, Kansas, had told her about his difficult recovery from traditional back surgery. But he also told her about a better experience, a second surgery with Reed using Arthroscopic Microdiscectomy (AMD). He said recovery was much faster and less painful, and suggested this option to his sister.
Reed's military connections
The inner connections in this story don't end with Matthews's brother. Reed, the founder of Heartland, is a former military man himself, as is his partner. "At our practice, we believe it's part of our duty to support active and retired military personnel," Reed says. So Reed was excited to help the Navy commander's wife.
Reed, one of the few spine surgeons also trained in endoscopy, has used AMD to help 1,600 patients since the late 1980s, and Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital is the only Midwestern hospital to provide this minimally-invasive surgery on an outpatient basis. NFL players from the U.S. and international patients, from as far away as China, have come to Heartland for AMD after exhausting other avenues of medical treatment.
The connections pay off
In the end, Jenn Matthews's connections to Kansas, and Reed's connection to active military personnel led to a successful outcome. Matthews came to Heartland on a Wednesday in March, saw Reed on Thursday, had outpatient AMD surgery on Friday, and was home in Florida on Sunday. Matthews called her experience at Heartland amazing."I've never been to such a well-organized and well-orchestrated hospital. My mom is a nurse and she agrees," Matthews says. "I'm handing out Reed's card to all the people I know who have been putting off this surgery."
"I've never been to such a well-organized and well-orchestrated hospital," said Matthews. Three weeks after surgery she was walking three miles a day.
As for Reed, he's proud of the Navy Experimental Diving Unit hat and medal that Jenn's husband brought to him. He considers it a good day when a surgeon in Kansas gets to help the troops, and their families.