Caroline Madsen

I've always loved to play sports. My main sport is soccer and I play 4 days a week 10 months a year and I also play on a travel basketball team. But I love just about any sport - tennis, skiing, waterskiing, baseball... I really love it all. On Super Bowl Sunday February 1st 2015 right after my 9th birthday, I went skiing with my Daddy. I was skiing down the mountain when I was pushed by another skier accidentally and ended up colliding with an unpadded metal pole in the ski run. Ouch! I was rushed to a trauma center with a severely shattered femur which needed emergency surgery to repair including putting a metal plate and 8 screws in my leg. I had a bunch of other complications and spent a while in the trauma center. After that I came back to New York City and was treated by Dr. Widmann. I was so used to doing so many sports and first I couldn't move then just walking was hard. I remember trying to move my leg a few inches took me a long time. I recovered from the break, but walked and ran with a limp and couldn't do what I used to on and off the field which made me sad. Over the course of the next year-and-a-half I have had surgery to remove the metal plate and 8 screws in my leg - Dr. Widmann did a great job - and had extensive rehabilitation as well as treatment for the scar. Some doctors had told me in the trauma center that I would never walk normally again but I didn't give up. Dr. Widmann help me regain my confidence and my physical therapist Josh was a rock star. I am back playing soccer, tennis, basketball and just went skiing for the first time in nearly two years since my accident. Everyone at Hospital for Special Surgery was nice, built my confidence, and gave me the best care. While I still have a big scar that reminds me of what happened, I'm stronger because of the experience. Nothing will stop me now! Thank you to everyone at HSS and especially to Dr. Widmann. Love, Caroline