Anna-Sophia Leone

I sustained a burst fracture to T-12 after a fall on a night hike in Costa Rica. I was medevaced to NYC and admitted to an orthopedic hospital. After weeks of rehab, I left with a full body TLSO (clam shell brace). Unfortunately, imaging showed a complete absence of healing. I visited close to a dozen well respected surgeons, all of whom were confident I needed an anterior-posterior fixation stabilization procedure. At this time I was underweight and very deconditioned, and didn't think I could survive such an aggressive procedure. By some miracle I found Dr. Alana Serota, who moved heaven and earth to get my fracture to heal. She consulted all of her colleagues as well as experts in connective tissue disorders (I have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome), and spent her free time crafting a solution. It took nearly 2 years for my fracture to heal (assisted by medication), but heal I did. Unfortunately, I had a non-union, and she sent me to Dr. Joesph Lane, who was willing to take a chance on me and inject bone cement into the non-union instead of major surgery. It was virtually painless and I was out of the hospital in two days. Now fully healed/cemented, my chronic pain was gone, and I began the painful but successful process of getting off the fentanyl patches I'd been using since the fracture. Both doctors went far above and beyond standard of care, and saved me from what would have been a highly invasive and traumatic surgery. They are truly giants in their respective professions, and I am so very grateful for their excellent care and extraordinary teamwork in my full recovery.