Patient Testimonials

Before the surgery I struggled to get out of a chair. I teach first grade and those 6 and 7 year olds do not want to wait for their teacher to get off her chair or struggle to get off the floor. Every step was painful and I struggled to sleep at night. Now I don’t have to think about how to get off the chair or floor – I just do it. I have no pain and am able to keep up with my kiddos at school.

Dear Dr. Saterbak,

My name is Amy. I am taking this opportunity to thank you for all that you did for me. I first met you when you repaired my daughter’s torn meniscus when she was 14. Then, when I injured my right knee, I scheduled an appointment with you. Right away I knew I made the right choice. You were so energetic and positive about my potential for full recovery. You didn’t immediately say I needed to have surgery. You encouraged injections, physical therapy and a brace to see if these less invasive treatments would help. I really appreciated that because it gave me an opportunity to work hard to avoid surgery. I did my physical therapy every day for several months while we worked together, as a team, to avoid surgery. When it was clear that surgery was what I needed, I felt so confident moving forward. I had a right total knee replacement on 1/17/2018.

You and your amazing staff educated me about continuing my physical therapy and losing weight in order to have a full, successful recovery. Well, I listened and got professional help to lose weight. I started seeing Natalie at the Hennepin Healthcare Golden Valley Clinic. I have successfully lost over 50 pounds! I do not take any Ibuprofen or Tylenol anymore. I have no morning stiffness. Not only am still doing all my exercises, now with weights, but I’m also walking 10-15 miles a week and swimming. When people tell me how great I look, I tell them I feel better than I look! Thank you and all your staff again for your amazing work and the care you gave me.

Sincerely,
Amy S.

On Christmas eve of 2013, I was in a head-on collision on the backroads of St. Augusta, MN. My femoral head on my left side was shattered and dislocated, and I sustained multiple fractures in my left ulna and left fibula. I was hospitalized for a week, during which time I had 3 hip surgeries and one arm surgery. They were able to locate the fragments of my femoral head and reattached them with screws. My hip was then secured into the socket with a steel plate. Due to my arm injury, I was unable to use crutches, so for the following 12 weeks I was in a motorized wheelchair.

After those 12 weeks, I began working with Eric and his fantastic team (Jess, Emil, Ross, Kim). I did physical therapy with him for 12 months, during which time he saw me walk for the first time, fall countless times, fail, triumph, cry, laugh, and curse. We started with small things, like the stationary bike, and were about to build my muscles back up to the point where I could run on the treadmill with no pain. I truly cherish the memories I have with Eric and everyone else I worked with. I learned so much about my body and the process of recovery, and although my body will never return to the way it was before the accident, I feel so incredibly blessed to have worked with a team that helped me achieve the capabilities I have today.

July 13, 2016 – A little past noon, after returning from the Chicago Nike National tournament and practicing with her Varsity home team, the Zephyrs, Julia tore her right ACL. She was devastated. Her team was stacked with Emma, Annika, and Marissa and would have had one of the best Mahtomedi girl’s basketball team in years. Dr. Andrea Saterbak told Julia her options and reconstructive surgery was scheduled. Her trainers, Kenny and Peter, came to the surgery center with tears in their eyes. Julia would sit her 9th grade year on the bench after playing varsity as an 8th grader. Shannon Maxiner took care of her rehab and everyone said she would come back. She worked and trained and came back and the Fury AAU team who took her back to the Chicago Nike National Tournament.

At a little after noon on July 13, 2017, Julia tore her left ACL. The trainer at the tournament said she was ok, the Mahtomedi trainer said she was ok. She had built her muscles back so strong that she passed all tests to keep playing and she did.

Something didn’t feel right. Julia knew something was wrong. We went to see Dr. Saterbak. Andrea performed her test and the last part of Julia’s ACL snapped. Andrea was in tears and so sorry for Julia. Julia thought her worst fear couldn’t be true, it couldn’t happen again, she just didn’t think she could go through it again. Andrea scheduled her reconstructive surgery, her trainers Kenny and Peter came, her friends, family, and Shannon Maxiner told her she could do this and was going to come back stronger than ever. Julia sat on the bench her sophomore year and skipped AAU to finally be ready to play for her varsity team.

Julia’s first home game as a junior, she tied the school record for making 5 threes. Julia was named the captain of her team, was high scorer on her team, received an All Conference from all coaches, and the Zephyr award for one of the hardest working members of her team. To have a great surgeon, a great training team, a loving and kind PT, wonderful friends and family— priceless!

Andrea’s healing words and excellent surgical skills set a community in motion to allow the girl who wanted to be a basketball player to successfully return to her game. Who knows what her senior year will bring?

As a therapist myself, it was hard to become a patient suddently. But after recreational softball caused me to have several orthpedic injuries in a matter of years (2007 and 2009), I was fully thrown into the role of patient. My first injury was a fractured ulna from a softball that hit the arm I was using to get off the ground after a slide. When Dr. Meyer presented the options of being casted for 8 weeks (with the possibility of still needing surgery) or surgery, I chose to have ORIF surgery so I could be back to work in two days. He helped me get into therapy that Friday for a splint so I could continue my memorial day camping plans and then I was back at work the following Monday (yes with a splint and lifting restrictions)!

I was able to resume softball by August and had a full return of strength and function within 6 months. It was wonderful! Unfortunately, 2 years later at the end of the recreational softball season during the Championship game, a close call at second base caused me to have to lunge back to the base and onto the glove the the short stop execuring a diving tag. I stepped on his glove which was going perpendicular to my direction and felt an instant pop and twist of my knee. Again, as a therapist myself, I knew immediately that I now too had become a knee patient. I didn’t know how severe it was at the time, but I knew it wasn’t great. I got a knee brace and, a few days after this injury, my knee completely gave out on me while getting out of my car and I fell onto the concrete and tragically dislocated my elbow. This would all be tragic enough, had this also not been a week before my wedding. As my husband and I met playing softball, the plan was to play softball at our wedding. Now I have a torn up knee and an elbow that is black and blue from wrist to armpit.

I saw Dr. Meyer for follow up on the elbow and he referred me to Dr. Knowlan and an MRI of the knee. I was able to get through my wedding without crutches and a beautiful knee brace under my wedding dress! I was able to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at our wedding and then pose for some pictures with the teams and ‘batting’ before I excused myself from play. It made for great pictures! The MRI returned and it was a torn ACL, MCL, frayed meniscus, bone chips off the tibia, sprained fibular collateral ligament and surgery would be recommended. I went on my honeymoon with a hinged knee brace and a hinged elbow brace.

Spring of the next year I decided to have the ACL repaired. In the years since the surgeries I returned to playing softball, to prove to myself that I didn’t have a ‘career ending’ injury. In an attempt to take up a safer sport that wouldn’t require so much time off work if injrued, we took up golf and now only sub on softball leagues. In the recent years, I have started running and have run several 5K races and am pleased to report that on the most recent one on April 7th, Goldy’s Run, I had zero knee pain! NONE! On another note, I just got asked to sub on a softball team and am actually considering it despite my bad luck with injuries. This wouldn’t be an option to consider were it not for my wonderful surgeons that put me back together!

In October of 2016, I was faced with a situation of having my left lower leg amputated. Being a fairly active 59 years old, I was scared, nervous, and skeptical of my journey ahead. Although my story is nothing unique, it was my experience with TCO that made my situation easier to adjust too. Shortly thereafter, my oldest son, Tim, lost his left leg and partially the right foot, escalating our fight against Diabetes even more.

Timmy was a captain of the Burnsville Baseball team for the 2004-2008 seasons. He also coached the Burnsville Legion team for a number of years. TCO and the therapists there have given us the hope to be somewhat normal life again. They have introduced us to the great organization of and have simplified our journey back to independent living. Thanks!

As an active 69 year old grandmother with several years of gradually worsening osteoarthritic hip pain, I had tried every suggestion from PT to cortisone injections to deep muscle massage, with little relief. I was finally advised to look into a total hip replacement. I didn’t know where to start with my research for best practices, but luckily for me, a family friend had recently used and highly recommended Dr. Owen O’Neill for a minimally invasive, anterior approach hip replacement. What a find! From my first appointment, I knew I was in the right place. Between Ann, Jessie and the rest of the TCO staff, I felt in good hands. The Fairview Southdale joint class was most helpful; as were the pre-surgery recommended exercises. In spite of my husband and my fears, we forged ahead with surgery and happily, had a perfect outcome. My legs are the same length again!! Hurrah! I was up walking at Fairview within hours of surgery and discharged the next afternoon after a few in-house PT sessions to demonstrate I could manage stairs. At home that first day, I climbed our second-level stairs slowly but surely. I used a walker for 5 days; graduated to a cane for another 5 days, after a few more days, kept losing the cane in our house! By the end of week two, I was mostly off pain meds except for two Tylenol at night. I was sleeping better than I had in a couple years. No hip pain!! My three week post-op visit; I walked in unassisted without a limp; my 2 month visit…I was good to go; no restrictions! No pain…a little outer hip numbness and slight swelling with activity (ice alleviates) but no pain. Already traveling/flying again; walking without hip pain is a such a blessing! Thanks again to Dr. Owen O’Neill for his professional, kind, personable bedside manner. And to his staff, who were there whenever I needed them, thank you!! As everyone said in the beginning, “You’ll wonder why you didn’t do this sooner.” Exactly!!! Thanks so much.

Right shoulder is perfect. Dr. O’Keefe is an excellent surgeon. I will be having him do my left shoulder in the near future. Recovery was easy.

First things first, when you’re told to do your exercises, do them! Dr. O’Keefe is very straight forward, yet very compassionate. Nathan is compassionate as well. I’m three months post hip replacement surgery and am getting better each day thanks to these two professionals. TCO is blessed to have them and if I should ever need surgery again, I’ll choose them.

Before the surgery with Dr. Meyer, my life was non-stop pain. Walking, standing, sleeping or lack of sleep all affected by the pain. I avoided stairs for fear of the knee giving out. The other day I went upstairs, got to the top and realized that I had gone up alternating steps with out thinking about it. In the past I wouldn’t have been able to get up without using a single step method. It’s refreshing to think of my new knee as the good one and cannot wait to do the second one.