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James Schwalbe

Englewood, NJ
  • James Schwalbe in the photo 1

I have been skiing since I was 11 years old, and now my wife and I have been going with our three kids skiing every year for the past 8 years. I was on my annual 'boys ski trip' in March of 2010. That year we decided to go to Jackson Hole, WY. The conditions were pretty bad with grass sticking out of the snow. We figured however, that a bad day of skiing still had to be better than a good day at work.... I took a bad fall on the first day with my left ski hitting grass and stopping and the rest of my body going full speed down the mountain. I fell badly and when I tried to stand up and ski my leg simply collapsed. Ski patrol took me down and my knee cap was now horizontal to my leg and I could not bear any weight on my left leg. I went to the local orthopedist who took an MRI and then examined me. The MRI technician after viewing the film told me that I was "FUBAR" and the orthopedist kept on saying "wow" and "I have never seen damage like that", and that if there was any vascular damage which he said was quite possible- he would have to amputate.

After I heard that I know I had to get home and there was only one place to have my surgery- HSS. I came home and met with Dr. Warren the next day who scheduled me for surgery two days later. After the surgery in which Dr. Warren replaced my ACL and MCL and repaired my PCL as well as my meniscus. I was told that the ball was in my court- Dr. Warren put my leg back together and now it was up to me to get back into shape. I took on this mission and after 18 months of intense physical therapy I was walking without any limp and two years after my fall-we all went skiing and had a great time. I have been skiing every year ever since. I am sure that without the genius that is Dr. Warren and the amazing staff at HSS I would be missing out on a big part of my life.