Lily's story from her mom's perspective- written by Erin Waters*
Lily was bouncing around the house like most 3 year olds do, fell, and fractured both bones in her left arm.
Also damaged in the mishap were Lily’s Halloween dreams, until we met someone who understood the magic of day to my little girl.
After taking Lily to a provider who did not meet my expectations, a coworker recommended I see one of Blessing Physician Services’ new orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Darr Leutz. We had an appointment the next day. From the first moment of that appointment I knew we were in the right place!
In addition to a welcoming and courteous support staff in the office, Dr. Leutz was friendly, lighthearted and genuinely concerned about Lily’s arm and her comfort with him as a physician. He took the time to get on her level and even managed to get her to laugh. We discussed Lily’s care options and the need for her to go under anesthesia to repair the fracture properly. Dr. Leutz’s promise to, “care for her as if she was his own daughter,” helped put me even more at ease.
As I spoke with Lily about what would happen next, her plain and simple response was, “I want a green cast for my Halloween costume.” The nurse mentioned that she didn’t think they had very many colors to choose from in surgery, but Dr. Leutz said they had green in the office and he would take it over to the operating room with him. I really didn’t put much more thought into the green cast, but Lily did and she talked about it until she went to bed that night. I thought it was a nice gesture on his part, but I was a mother preparing myself mentally for my child to go under anesthesia and to be honest, cast color was the last thing on my mind.
The next morning Lily arrived at Blessing Hospital One-Day Surgery and was excited to go in and see “Doctor Weutz” (The letter “L” is not an easy thing for her). Within 45 minutes Dr. Leutz came to speak with my husband and me, letting us know that everything had gone flawlessly and he’d made sure Lily received her green cast. In that moment, with the anxiety of my child having surgery finally behind me, the significance of the cast color finally sunk in.
An orthopedic surgeon remembered that my curly-haired, blue-eyed little girl wanted one thing - a green cast that would match her Halloween costume.
As a nurse, I have a profound respect for Dr. Leutz’s knowledge of orthopedics and his impeccable bedside manner. As a mother, I am grateful to Dr. Leutz for remembering the one little thing that made my daughter smile at having a cast: the color green.
Learn more about the Blessing Orthopedic & Sports Medicine program.
*In addition to being Lily’s mom, Erin is a nurse in the Illini Community Hospital Emergency Room, Pittsfield, IL. Illini is a member of the Blessing Health System.