Meet
Fern Larocca
Client of the Month
Client of the Month, February 09: Fern Larocca
Fern had been afraid of the rain.
On a rainy day in November 2003, a car her friend was driving hydroplaned, hit a road sign, and came to a stop. The road sign had ripped through the passenger door and sliced into her right hip, crushed her pelvis, damaged her bladder, and destroyed the major nerves that extended down her right leg.
In the emergency room the doctors pumped her torso with stabilizing foam to prevent possible internal bleeding, as a surgeon removed most of her right hip, piece by piece – the gluteus, part of the IT Band, much of the hip flexors, and a large piece of bone from her iliac crest.
While recovering in the ICU a piece of stabilizing foam broke in her stomach and snaked down her left leg (which had been undamaged by the accident) and burrowed itself right below the knee where it caused an embolism that required amputation of her leg.
Fern spent 2004 in the hospital with an open wound on her hip. She was pumped full of pain medication and heavy doses of antibiotics, but for months was still in pain and nearly defenseless against infections that could have killed her. She learned later that the doctors had given her a very low chance of survival.
This sort of circumstance gives a person two choices: withdraw or accept. Fern chose the latter and eventually discovered that acceptance itself had many unpleasant facets, including fighting through immense pain in physical therapy, the humiliation of assistance with her most private needs, and being denied the many activities that we take for granted. But she also became the central purpose for family and friends to grow closer, and a new dependency allowed her to connect with loved ones in ways that a locked bathroom door prevents. It was bittersweet.
Not long after her discharge from the hospital, she was at an outdoor café in San Francisco with a friend, enjoying the sun on her face for the first time in a while. She saw two people rollerblading. As her friend talked Fern stared at the rollerbladers, their legs moving in a rhythm that was like music. She watched them pass while she was confined to her wheelchair with her right leg propped up with pins extended from her hip, her left leg ending abruptly below the knee. She asked her friend if she would be able to rollerblade again soon. And they laughed. Fern laughed, in her usual way – without self-pity.
In 2006, after diligent and painful rehab, Fern rose from the wheelchair and began walking with a knee brace and a walker. Eventually, the brace came off and the walker was traded for a cane.
It’s no exaggeration to say that connective tissue is practically the only thing holding her right hip together; the area is delicate. And the nerve damage had rendered her right leg so badly misaligned and her right foot so severely pronated and everted that weight bearing can direct stress into a knee that’s already precarious. She has limited use of her right leg, while the left leg stands on prosthesis. But one day, the front door at FIT opened and Fern walked in, dauntless and eager to exercise.
The needs assessment for Fern is: Fall protection. Falling can be devastating because her right femur and pelvis are protected only by a layer of skin no thicker than a few sheets of paper. With a direct impact, the bones in this area can shatter.
But her knees do not bend well, so the option of tuck-and-roll during a fall is out, leaving her to depend on the arms to protect from the impact. And, once on the ground, she must use her arms to pull herself back up. The goal then is to strengthen her arms, shoulders and core.
The limitation in Fern’s legs and hips also means that we have to find sustainable ways to improve her cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic fitness. Gentle on her legs and hip, the indoor rower meets this goal.
Exercise has not been easy for Fern, as the prosthesis for her left leg keeps slipping, despite repeated adjustment by the prosthesist. Her leg slides around in it, rubbing the skin raw. And her hip often hurts if she overworks the area. But she dismisses these difficulties as small inconveniences hardly worth mentioning, an attitude reflective of what she's been through and her gratitude for not being confined to a wheelchair. The ability to walk again might be a gift for many, but I have to say that Fern has earned every step she takes, as much as she has earned every bodyweight pull-up, every pushup from her toes, and every exercising heartbeat that rises higher than that of the week before. And though some people might sing and dance in the rain, a wet sidewalk has frightened Fern for the past 5 years; today, stronger and more stable, she said that she’s no longer afraid of the rain. Name: Fern Larocca Age: 54 FIT Member Since: 2007 500m Row, Personal Best: 2:38 Bodyweight Pull-ups: 4 Pushups (from toes): 12 Likes: Pull-ups and Pushups, because "their improvement is measurable." Dislikes: Rowing, because "it’s tough, but I know it’s good for me, so I do it." Fern's website: http://www.wholeheartedway.com/
Fern had been afraid of the rain.
On a rainy day in November 2003, a car her friend was driving hydroplaned, hit a road sign, and came to a stop. The road sign had ripped through the passenger door and sliced into her right hip, crushed her pelvis, damaged her bladder, and destroyed the major nerves that extended down her right leg.
In the emergency room the doctors pumped her torso with stabilizing foam to prevent possible internal bleeding, as a surgeon removed most of her right hip, piece by piece – the gluteus, part of the IT Band, much of the hip flexors, and a large piece of bone from her iliac crest.
While recovering in the ICU a piece of stabilizing foam broke in her stomach and snaked down her left leg (which had been undamaged by the accident) and burrowed itself right below the knee where it caused an embolism that required amputation of her leg.
Fern spent 2004 in the hospital with an open wound on her hip. She was pumped full of pain medication and heavy doses of antibiotics, but for months was still in pain and nearly defenseless against infections that could have killed her. She learned later that the doctors had given her a very low chance of survival.
This sort of circumstance gives a person two choices: withdraw or accept. Fern chose the latter and eventually discovered that acceptance itself had many unpleasant facets, including fighting through immense pain in physical therapy, the humiliation of assistance with her most private needs, and being denied the many activities that we take for granted. But she also became the central purpose for family and friends to grow closer, and a new dependency allowed her to connect with loved ones in ways that a locked bathroom door prevents. It was bittersweet.
Not long after her discharge from the hospital, she was at an outdoor café in San Francisco with a friend, enjoying the sun on her face for the first time in a while. She saw two people rollerblading. As her friend talked Fern stared at the rollerbladers, their legs moving in a rhythm that was like music. She watched them pass while she was confined to her wheelchair with her right leg propped up with pins extended from her hip, her left leg ending abruptly below the knee. She asked her friend if she would be able to rollerblade again soon. And they laughed. Fern laughed, in her usual way – without self-pity.
In 2006, after diligent and painful rehab, Fern rose from the wheelchair and began walking with a knee brace and a walker. Eventually, the brace came off and the walker was traded for a cane.
It’s no exaggeration to say that connective tissue is practically the only thing holding her right hip together; the area is delicate. And the nerve damage had rendered her right leg so badly misaligned and her right foot so severely pronated and everted that weight bearing can direct stress into a knee that’s already precarious. She has limited use of her right leg, while the left leg stands on prosthesis. But one day, the front door at FIT opened and Fern walked in, dauntless and eager to exercise.
The needs assessment for Fern is: Fall protection. Falling can be devastating because her right femur and pelvis are protected only by a layer of skin no thicker than a few sheets of paper. With a direct impact, the bones in this area can shatter.
But her knees do not bend well, so the option of tuck-and-roll during a fall is out, leaving her to depend on the arms to protect from the impact. And, once on the ground, she must use her arms to pull herself back up. The goal then is to strengthen her arms, shoulders and core.
The limitation in Fern’s legs and hips also means that we have to find sustainable ways to improve her cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic fitness. Gentle on her legs and hip, the indoor rower meets this goal.
Exercise has not been easy for Fern, as the prosthesis for her left leg keeps slipping, despite repeated adjustment by the prosthesist. Her leg slides around in it, rubbing the skin raw. And her hip often hurts if she overworks the area. But she dismisses these difficulties as small inconveniences hardly worth mentioning, an attitude reflective of what she's been through and her gratitude for not being confined to a wheelchair. The ability to walk again might be a gift for many, but I have to say that Fern has earned every step she takes, as much as she has earned every bodyweight pull-up, every pushup from her toes, and every exercising heartbeat that rises higher than that of the week before. And though some people might sing and dance in the rain, a wet sidewalk has frightened Fern for the past 5 years; today, stronger and more stable, she said that she’s no longer afraid of the rain. Name: Fern Larocca Age: 54 FIT Member Since: 2007 500m Row, Personal Best: 2:38 Bodyweight Pull-ups: 4 Pushups (from toes): 12 Likes: Pull-ups and Pushups, because "their improvement is measurable." Dislikes: Rowing, because "it’s tough, but I know it’s good for me, so I do it." Fern's website: http://www.wholeheartedway.com/
