Annabel Prinz

My name is Annie Prinz and I am nine-years-old. In December 2016 (when I was still 8 years old), I was skiing with my dad, brother and sister. It was the first run of the season, and when I tried to stop, I fell down and my knee twisted in a weird way. I didn't really know what had happened. My knee hurt, but I was still near the top of the mountain and so I skied down the rest of way (and fell one more time on my way down). When I got to the bottom, I realized I couldn't ski anymore, and my mom came to get me and took me to the local hospital. I got an x-ray, and found out that I had broken my leg. I felt scared and nervous because I didn't know what was going to happen. They told my mom that the only way to fix my leg was to have surgery because it couldn't heal right on its own.

My mom called HSS on New Years' Day. Dr. Fabricant was on call that day and spoke to my mom. My mom told him about my injury, and it turned out to be really lucky that she spoke to him, because he does the exact kind of surgery that I needed. The next day, I traveled to New York City with my mom and dad, and we saw Dr. Fabricant. He explained to us what had happened to my knee. When I fell skiing and twisted my knee, my ACL pulled out of my bone, and took a big bone fragment with it, which is why my leg broke.

I had surgery two days later at HSS. All the doctors and nurses who took care of me were so nice. I was really scared, and having nice nurses made me feel so much better. Breaking my leg was a really big deal, and the doctors and nurses were so careful and gentle with me. When I had the surgery, Dr. Fabricant found out that I didn't just break my leg, I also tore my meniscus. I stayed overnight in the hospital and luckily my mom and dad were able to stay in the room with me. I felt very cared for by the nurses. They made sure I was comfortable. I saw a lot of doctors that next day!

I went home and was on crutches for about two months, and I had physical therapy for almost five months. I saw Dr. Fabricant a lot during that time. After five months, I found out that I needed another surgery because I had a lot of scar tissue and that was preventing me from getting my range of motion back. So I had another surgery, but I recovered really fast this time and was up and walking in about three days. I did even more physical therapy this time, and Dr. Fabricant kept in touch with my physical therapists A LOT. I saw Dr. Fabricant pretty much every two weeks, and he was really pleased with my progress.

About four and half months after my second surgery, I graduated from PT! Now, I can do cartwheels, run around in gym, hike with my family, and do all the things my friends are doing. At my last appointment, Dr. Fabricant said my knee looks as good as new. I feel proud of myself for getting through everything. I feel grateful for Dr. Fabricant and HSS and my parents for how they helped me and got me through a really tough time.

THANK YOU DR. FABRICANT!!