I was a patient of Dr. Coetzee at Twin Cities Orthopedics. I have CMT (Charcot Marie Tooth Disease) which is a genetic muscle and bone disease. I injured my left ankle from a fall in September of 2017 and after months of limping around and extreme pain, I saw Dr. Coetzee and he performed surgery on June 6, 2018. He did an ankle fusion with a plate. After 5 months of recovery, I was still having a lot of pain in my foot, so
Dr. Coetzee discovered that my plate was digging into my bone and new bone was beginning to grow over it. In November 2018, he removed the plate and screws from my ankle.
I am walking now with more mobility and able to do things that I couldn't for almost a year. However, I continue to have swelling and pain in my ankle. On April 30, 2019 I saw Dr. Coetzee and looking at my Xrays he stated that my bones are healed nicely but with the swelling problem he said that I am having problems with my soft tissue, so he referred me to
Susan Anderson, who is a therapist at TCO. She was wonderful and recommended some compression wraps and PT to reduce my pain and swelling and is very confident that I can overcome this problem. I am currently following this plan of treatment, my faith is strong and I believe I can improve my quality of life.
Having a disabling and degenerative muscle disease since I was a child is a very humbling and a huge character building experience. Many of my family members have this disease and has affected some worse than others. I, unfortunately, have many of the "bad" symptoms. Learning to deal with people mocking you on the way you walk, stumbling and falling down often, the pain and limited activities that I can and cannot do, has taught me to embrace the things that make me happy. I enjoy spending time with my grandchildren and doing activities like fishing, 4-wheeling, camping, bonfires, and watching baseball games, which are all very satisfying for me, and I want to make to best of my life while I still can.
I am so thankful for Dr. Coetzee and his staff for their knowledge and experience and for giving me the chance to enjoy my life! Thank you.
