Cristi Stiers

It was a beautiful spring day and I was riding my bicycle on Miami Beach. I had been enjoying my ride for about 30 minutes when I started to pass a group of people walking to the beach. They were busy chatting away and could not see what I could see...another bike rider coming right at me and not slowing down or changing direction. At the last minute, I decided to swerve to the left to avoid hitting the other rider and the group of beachgoers. I got into some really deep and loose sand which promptly stopped my bike. As I put down my right foot to catch myself, my foot sank deeper and turned inward, dislocating my ankle. Me and my bike then landed on my right leg. A lifeguard quickly arrived and popped my ankle back into place and then paramedics took me to the local hospital where x-rays determined that I had broken my right fibula and then the bone that holds all of the tendons together. Seeing my x-rays, I knew that I needed someone who was top in their field to fix this. I wanted to do this only once and to get back to my life as quickly as possible. I run a international business for a large corporation and am on and off planes repeatedly, traveling the world. A friend of mine had experienced a similar injury where he broke both his tibia and fibula nearly 15 years before and he went to HSS and had fantastic results. We looked up his surgeon's name and surprisingly, he was still practicing at HSS. I called the next day to see about an appointment and then flew to NYC. The Tuesday following Easter, I had my surgery and was released to go home shortly before 1PM the same day! Dr. Levine and his staff, are phenomenal. Everything from costs to recovery time were thoroughly explained to me. Dr. Levine is very positive and your recovery is a partnership between the two of you which I really like. I followed his and Lisa's (the physician assistant that works with Dr. Levine) directions and had amazing results. I began putting some weight on my right leg/foot on week 7 after the surgery and made fast progress from there. I kept all of PT appointments and worked hard in those sessions, but was walking without a boot or any assistance by week 11! My recovery has been great! There isn't anything that I haven't been able to do either in my normal course of everyday life, to my work to the types of recreational activities that I have always enjoyed. I have recommended to others that they go to Dr. Levine. The quality of care is exceptional! I could not be happier with my outcome! Thanks to everyone at HSS, Dr. Levine and everyone who works in Dr. Levine's office! You guys are awesome!