Patient Testimonials

Last year, I remember summer being a challanging time for myself personally, as I started to think about the father/husband I was becoming. I was active with my family (or maybe too active) and I began to pay the paid the price with horrible knee pain. Fast forward to winter and the pain continued to get worse and worse. I decided to head into the doctor. With each visit, I would lose a little hope in returning to my playful ways with kids and activities with my family. Then I finally made my way to TCO, where Dr. Butterfield said he could help. I was excited and nervous about the surgery, but he made it seem easy. I remember waking up from surgery and instantly the pain was gone. It was unbelievable how great I felt and how my life felt on track again…so soon.

One month later, I was back to normal activities and had a large “pop” in my other knee. Again, I went back to my trusted surgeon, Dr. Butterfield, which turned out to be the best decisions I’ve made for my personal health. I had another surgery and so far, it was another success. This sounds overboard, but Dr. Butterfield and TCO have given me the ability to be a active, fun dad again. The smiles on my kids when we’re chasing through the yard is priceless. Thanks Dr. Butterfield!

Dr. O’Keefe and physical therapist Ron are fantastic. The EXCEL Program was awesome. All knee professionals and billing wasn’t confusing (very simple). Everything scheduled with therapy was very organized. They made me feel comfortable and confident that everything was well planned.

I blew out my ACL and it took my meniscus out with it. When recovering, the biggest thing I worked on was range of motion. 9 months after I was okayed to go skiing.

My worn-out right hip was making my back and neck ache from overcompensating when shifting my weight and force to my left leg. 3 months prior to surgery I was not able to run or climb stairs. Now, 6 weeks after knee replacement surgery with Dr. O’Keefe, I am walking with ease and stairs are no longer a challenge. I’m ready to get into strength training and swimming. I really look forward to riding my horses in another 2 months.

In August of 2018 I shredded my patellar tendon jumping trying to win a $2 t-shirt for hitting a volleyball. 10 days later, Dr. Lewis was performing the first surgery to repair the damage. After surgery, I was in an immobilizer for around 12 weeks. During this time, I met with Tegan and Hannah to start physical therapy. During this time therapy went fine. I was able to do straight leg raises fairly quickly and progressed as expected.

The next phase is to start to bend the knee. I equate it as the tendon is like a frozen bungee cord, has to stretch it out. Along the way there were many hurdles, swelling in the knee, tightness in the hamstrings and t band slowed progress as well as the knee already being arthritic . At 1 point I was measured at 80 degrees and was stuck there. After a follow-up with Dr. Lewis he said he believed that scar tissue had built up on the repaired tendon and was keeping me from progressing any farther, so back under the knife I went to clean up the scar tissue and knee manipulation. After that we continued PT 3 times a week and made some progress but again because stuck but now at 90 degrees.

Back to Dr. Lewis for another follow-up. Dr. Lewis was not unsure what was keeping me from bending past 90 degrees and proceeded to give me the bad news. He was unsure if I would be able to walk normal again let alone play sports. This was difficult for me to hear as sports and being active have been my life. If I’m not playing a game I’m coaching a game. At this time this is where Tegan shined! Not only did she continue to push me during my therapy, she helped me with my mental and emotional state! And to be honest that was probably the most important therapy she provided. We continued to work hard, bending and pushing until I couldn’t do more. In my next follow-up I’m proud to say Dr. Lewis said in a couple of months you should be able to run and jump again!!!

Tegan stayed with me the whole time, assisting me to trust my knee as I ran, made cuts and jumped! Last week I played volleyball for the first time since August 27th and it was great! Being able to compete again is such a huge accomplishment for me!!! And without Tegan I strongly believe that I would not have been able to accomplish this!

Thank you Tegan, Hannah and of course Dr. Lewis for helping me get right!!!

With this knee surgery by Dr. Knowlan; I have been able to work out again without my knee going numb/giving out.

Four years ago, I had a knee that kept randomly popping out of the socket. I visited many doctors and had many x-rays. I finally had a referal to Dr. Sanders, who ordered an MRI and found the issue very quick. I was only 25 and normally a total knee replacement would’ve been done. But with me being so young, he wanted to avoid a replacement. Instead, he did a total knee reconstruction. The surgery went perfect and my life has improved so much! I never have to worry about standing and having my knee pop out or going up stairs or anything. I no longer have pain in my knee and I can do normal every day activities that I had to be cautious of before my knee reconstruction!

I am a sophomore at St. Catherine’s University and I play basketball there. This past year, on Oct. 30th, we were having a practice. It was the last stretch of practices before games finally started and we had a scrimmage 4 days later. During practice, I cut and I stepped on my teammates foot and ending up perfectly tearing my ACL, MCL, and partial tears in my medial and lateral meniscus. I had surgery one week later and now I am 20 weeks post-op. I plan to be ready for basketball this next coming season.

I loved having Braidy as my PT, he continues to push me everyday no matter on what my mood is. He has put up with a lot! Going through this experience has been eye opening and I have learned so much about myself and the game of basketball. I got to learn the game of basketball so differently this year. I also got to help lead my teammates from the sideline this year and teach them more about basketball. I still have a couple months to go but I am determined as ever to get back. This would not be possible without all the support that the staff at the Training Haus has provided me. This experience has made me grow as a person and I would not trade it for anything.

I’m a 17 year old alpine ski racer. I live for the speed and adrenaline rush of the sport. I’m always looking for ways to push myself on and off the slopes. As many ski racers know, with the speed comes great risk and possibility of injury. Skiing is all I have ever known and ever since my very first race practice I have never wanted to get off the slopes. I’ve never been afraid of the speed; in fact, I seek it out.

I’ve never had any injuries that really scared me. Growing up, it seemed like injuries happened. They’d heal and you would move on and forget about them soon after. Injuries didn’t phase me. Like when I broke my wrist, it was as simple as getting a waterproof cast so I could continue competing in triathlons.

I started to really ramp up my skiing at the end of the 2016-17 season and gained a considerable amount of momentum with my results. I received multiple scholarships that gave me opportunities to pursue my goals and take my skiing to the next level. I was racing Super G and Downhill at the Rocky Central Junior Championships in Vail where I was skiing 70 mph and over jumps, eventually finding out I was skiing with a broken wrist. I was at a point in my ski career where everything had been going right. I had tremendous opportunities and a lot of support which was a necessity to stay in this expensive sport.

In the fall of 2017, I attended a training camp at Vail Mountain on a scholarship. Toward the end of the camp, I fell training GS and broke my thumb and sustained a concussion. When I got back to Minnesota, I found out that I was going to need surgery to fix my thumb, which was done by Dr. McCarthy. It was my first surgery and the first injury that really phased me. I was forced to take a month off of skiing, which for me was a very difficult thought to come to terms with.

A month later, despite still having pins sticking out of my hand and the bulkiest cast I’ve ever seen, I was back on the slopes. I had to take it super easy but still enjoyed every second of it. My second day back skiing was the day after Christmas. It was at an alumni race for my high school ski team. I decided to forerun the course. The first run felt amazing, I couldn’t have been happier to be back skiing. I felt invincible as I stood in the starting gate, with no fear. I thought, if a broken thumb couldn’t stop me nothing would,’ and pushed out of the start gate another time. The next thing I knew I had crashed and was sliding down the hill on my side and tried to stand up as I was still sliding. My knee popped as I tried to come to a stop and my stomach instantly dropped. I got up but fell again as my knee must have given out. The second I started to fall I bounced back up and skied the rest of the way down on one ski. I smiled at the parents and coaches in the finish and pushed myself over to the chalet as if nothing happened.

It was a struggle getting out of my skis but I managed to get a friend, who wasn’t aware of what happened, to help me out. I used my poles to hobble to the comp center but fell to the ground when my knee gave out again. I hopped up the stairs on one leg and sat down. I was terrified. My friend began to suspect something was wrong – but I froze and refused to admit I had hurt my knee. I sat for what felt like hours bending my knee and convincing myself I was overreacting – and thinking the pop I heard I must have made up in my head. I decided I was perfectly fine to go back out to ski. I stood up and took about a step and a half before my knee gave out and I fell to the floor. I tried standing a couple more times that night and every time my knee would give out with even the very slightest pressure.

It was difficult calling my parents and admitting that I was hurt. I remember walking in my front door late that night and seeing my mom’s face which made everything start to sink in. The next morning I was being wheeled into TCO. It eased my mind talking to doctors and was headed off for an MRI then home on crutches. A day or two later I heard my mom’s phone ring. I was upstairs and could only make out a little bit of the conversation. After trying to figure out what my mom and the doctor were talking about my dad came to the bottom of the stairs and told me that I had a complete tear of my ACL. I was in total disbelief. The impact this would have on the next year of my life did not set in right away. After talking on the phone with the doctors I realized this was not an injury where I could just sit back and wait until it was healed. I could no longer focus my energy on skiing and had to try my best to redirect it all to physical therapy. I began setting rehab goals where I typically wrote my skiing goals.

The transition from being very active and not letting injuries stop me was taken out of my control. This injury had a lot of power over me which was tough to come to terms with. I felt really lost right after the injury and unsure of what the future would hold. This is where my TCO champion comes in, Brandon Schomberg; my physical therapist. He was very reassuring right from the start. It was very clear to me he knew exactly what to do and I could trust him and would not be alone on the journey. Brandon guided me to take back control over this injury and regain the power to decide the outcome. On January 12th, 2018 I had surgery, done by Dr. Christopher Larson. By then I was just happy to get started on my recovery and get back to what I love. From the second I woke up, I was anxious to start rehab and start my journey getting back in the start gate.

I quickly realized how difficult the next year would be, and whether or not I wanted to admit how injured I was. Brandon broke everything down into manageable steps and celebrated every little accomplishment along the way. His positive attitude and reassurance motivated me in a way no one else could have done. Soon, I began gaining momentum with rehab and enjoyed going and continuing setting goals. Brandon made the whole recovery fun and interesting and taught me a lot. I learned a lot about myself throughout the process and that I was capable of so much more than I had thought. Physical therapy became a place of discovery, not just where I did my exercises. Brandon encouraged me to be my best in every aspect of my life, from school to sports, to in the community. He also made sure I was having fun especially through the difficult times throughout my recovery. I came to know the Eden Prairie location very well, I felt welcomed at every appointment. I went into my first appointment for my knee expecting it to be a long and lonely process to get back skiing. I never expected to be embraced by so many people who were so invested in my recovery and wellness – they all felt like family.

After 10 months of lots of hard work and dreaming of skiing, I was finally able to get back to what I love. It was nerve-racking knowing the day I had been waiting for had finally come. I was scared to know what it would feel like being back on snow, especially considering it may never feel the same as it did before the injury. I had total confidence in my knee being strong but there was still so much unknown. Having a team of specialists surrounding me, who told me I was ready, allowed me to have confidence in myself in an area where I didn’t know what to expect. The ACE program and testing at the Training HAUS were critical to tracking my progress and determining when I was ready to return to skiing. I was always guided through the challenging and scary parts of my recovery by people I fully trusted, so I knew if they said I was ready, I was ready. Their confidence gave me confidence and empowered me to believe in myself. By the time I was on the chairlift, I had no worries, just excitement. By my second run, I felt like I was just where I left off the previous year and stronger than ever. Everything came back so naturally, it was the most rewarding feeling ever. Every time I got to go skiing after that felt like a gift I was incredibly grateful for. Even when I wasn’t able to get back in the race course I was overjoyed.

Every aspect of getting back to skiing went better than I could have ever imagined. My knee felt strong and as if nothing ever happened. My confidence freeskiing carried into the race course as well. Just 4 days shy of the one year anniversary of my surgery I got back into the starting gate for my first race back. Not only did I have full confidence in my knee but I won the race, exceeding my highest expectations. Every week on snow I accomplished things I had no idea if I’d ever get back to. The season just kept getting better. Throughout my whole recovery, there were two races I had my eyes on – sections and state. Not only was I looking forward to being there myself, but I was looking forward to being there with my team. One of the most challenging parts of the year off was not being on the hill with my team. Sections and State served as a time to celebrate and look back on my season with my teammate and enjoy how far I had come. I came in 2nd place and our team won the Section title, qualifying for State. At State, I came in 11th place and my team came in 3rd. It was the most amazing feeling to stand in the start gate at State without even thinking about my knee. It was so rewarding to have a result at State that represented all the work I had put into the past year and all the support from Dr. Larson, Brandon and the whole TCO team that made it possible.

I began regular running in the fall of 2012 after retiring at the age of 56. I became a volunteer coach for Moms on the Run. In the fall of 2016 I was going to turn 60, so I vowed to make it my best spring/summer/fall of running ever. I ran 3-4 days every week from May through October, finished four 10-mile road races, a half-marathon, a half-marathon relay, a 5k, a 5-mile trail race, Ragnar Great River, and Ragnar Northwoods Trail. It was a great year of running and I was pretty much pain free. I was a year-round outside runner. But then something happened in March 2017 while running with a friend who was rehabbing after a broken ankle. We took off too fast and something popped in my knee, but I kept running until I physically could not. During that year and into 2018, I ran in pain and tried different physical therapies, along with a meniscus procedure. It seemed to work for a bit. I continued with therapy, received cortisone injections, and eventually synvisc injections in both knees, but no relief. I was forced to stop running and simple walking became very difficult. On April 11, 2018, I had my left knee replaced and seven weeks later, on May 30, my right knee was replaced. It’s been a long, long (almost) year of very hard work, patience and determination, but I vowed that I would attempt to run again. After walking and biking a lot, I just recently made that attempt and it felt “good.” I still experience stiffness and I know that I’ll always “feel” my replaced knees, but I am pretty much pain free. I don’t think that any distance above a 5k is in my future, but just to be able to put on my shoes and go out for a short run is heaven to me. My goal is to participate in the Women Run the Cities 5k on May 19. I can’t say enough about the excellent care that I received from everyone involved in my surgeries and recovery. I will be forever grateful.