THIS POST IS PART OF THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HAND, WRIST AND ELBOW INJURIES
Riding horses is 17-year-old, Hannah Toschlog’s favorite pastime. She normally rides one to three times a week and she constantly looks forward to the time she can spend with the horses. But when Hannah got thrown off a horse and landed on her elbow, her passion for riding horses was instantly threatened.
“I immediately couldn’t move my elbow and I had a feeling it was broken,” said Hannah. “My biggest fears were that I wouldn’t be able to show at the 4-H Fair this summer or worse, not be able to ride ever again.”
As a parent you never want to see your child in pain. However, with the amount of activities children participate in while growing up, injuries seem to be inevitable.
Looking for an answer
Hannah’s parents wanted to make sure she received the best care possible. After driving to Indianapolis from Richmond, Indiana to see Dr. Kosmas Kayes, who was not practicing with OrthoIndy at the time but is now an OrthoIndy pediatric and sports medicine specialist, they found themselves meeting with Dr. Greg Reveal, an OrthoIndy trauma surgeon.
“We were so grateful that we were able to get an appointment with OrthoIndy the same day since we were already in Indianapolis,” said Steve Toschlog, Hannah’s father. “We were an hour and a half from home and didn’t want to go back without answers.”
Dr. Reveal determined that Hannah would need surgery if she wanted to ride horses again.
“At our first visit with Dr. Reveal he answered our many questions about the injury and gave us the reality of the situation,” said Steve. “He did so in a very down-to-earth and encouraging way. He made us feel like our daughter was in good hands and that he was confident he could successfully perform the surgery.”
Elbow surgery
Three days after her injury, she headed in for surgery.
Since it was Hannah’s right elbow and she is right-handed she was having trouble doing most daily activities. She was also struggling to sleep; but worst of all, she was not able to ride horses or do much besides visit them. However, Hannah is now on the road to recovery.
Returning to horseback riding
“I currently have a 10 pound weight limit, but I feel like I can do almost anything I could before the accident,” said Hannah a few weeks after surgery. “My flexibility and range of motion is already better than what Dr. Reveal predicted it would be. My occupational therapist said that my recovery time is much faster than other people typically have for the same injury. We credit both Dr. Reveal and God for this.”
In Hannah’s most recent follow-up appointment she was told her arm was healed. She went straight from Dr. Reveal’s office to riding. Hannah is ready for summer where she plans to continue working with horses and get ready for the 4-H Fair. “I don’t think we have met a single OrthoIndy employee that hasn’t been nice,” said Steve. “We’re pleased all around and think Hannah is getting great care.”
To make an appointment with Dr. Reveal please call 317.917.4389 or learn more about OrthoIndy Trauma.
Schedule an appointment
Your well-being is important to us. Click the button below or call us to schedule an appointment with one of our orthopedic specialists. If your injury or condition is recent, you can walk right into one of our OrthoIndy Urgent Care locations for immediate care. For rehabilitation and physical therapy, no referral is needed to see one of our physical therapists.
