Ortho Team Helps Sauk Centre Cancer Survivor’s Fracture Heal

“Dr. Osborn is a straight shooter. He does not mess around with words. He listens to what you say, and he is very caring. I could not have asked for a better doctor.”

Joey Wiener of Sauk Centre is a 30-year breast cancer survivor who suffered a nasty fall in July 2023 resulting in a fracture to her right arm. Radiation treatments from 1994 have deteriorated the 71-year-old’s bone quality — making treatment and recovery difficult.

Today, the former dairy farmer and grandmother of eight is praising her care team at CentraCare M Physicians Orthopedics (CCMPO) for helping her regain quality of life following surgery.

It was July 6, 2023, when Joey decided to run errands at her local post office. Unfortunately, she tripped and fell on granite steps — bracing her fall with her upper right arm.

“I heard it crack and I knew something was wrong,” Joey murmured.

At once, she realized she needed emergency care. The mother of three asked her husband, Loren, to drive her to CentraCare – Sauk Centre Emergency Services where an X-ray revealed what she had suspected — the fall had fractured her right humerus.

“They said it looked nasty,” Joey anguished.

Joey was directed to CCMPO where she met Sports Medicine Physician Lisa Lovse, MD, MSc, FRCSC. “She put me into a brace, and I went back home to wait and see if the break would join the arm ,” Joey kept.

Two weeks later, Joey’s arm was in the same position it was before. That is when Dr. Lovse put in a referral to CCMPO Surgeon Patrick Osborn, MD, FAOA, FACS, a national expert in orthopedic trauma care.

“By that time, my arm was pretty swollen,” explained Joey.

Hoping to avoid surgery, Dr. Osborn and his team waited a couple of weeks to see if the compound fracture would start recovering on its own.

“I went back to see him again and he knew I needed surgery.” Joey resumed, “Dr. Osborn was very straightforward with everything he was going to do. That is what I like about him.”

Joey had surgery in August 2023 where she had two plates inserted into her arm. Normally, this situation only requires one plate but due to her poor bone quality, she received a second one.

Dr. Osborn wanted to induce new bone formation using a lab-created bone protein. The protein, more commonly used in foot and ankle cases, treated this nonunion case where the bone was not healing without intervention.

“That really did the trick … It made the surgery a success,” Joey praised.

Her surgery went well despite the difficulty with her bone quality. Following surgery, Joey started taking calcium and vitamin D supplements to aid in recovery.

Dr. Osborn confirmed, “Repeat surgery was an option, but we decided to see what would happen with the brace holding the plates … amazingly everything held together and in late September we saw healing bone.”

The orthopedic trauma surgeon credits part of Joey’s success to trusting his judgment . “She was an excellent partner in treatment. She stayed calm when the plates started failing and trusted me to continue to watch it. She did everything that I asked — and because of that has done incredibly well.”

Joey says it was easy to trust the surgeon’s advice because she felt informed every step of the way. “Dr. Osborn is a straight shooter. He does not mess around with words. He listens to what you say, and he is very caring. I could not have asked for a better doctor.”

Today, with the help of her husband and family, Joey is continuing her healing journey. She has been collaborating with a physical therapist to regain strength in her right arm doing stretches, weightlifting, rotation bicycling with her hands, and massage therapy.

“I am starting to bake more bread like I used to — I was quite the baker. I am picking things up more than before and noticing a little more strength in my right arm. I can carry things without dropping them,” she acknowledged with delight.