Surgeries + Rehab = Goals!

Pam Verr

Seven years ago, a collision during a women’s competitive hockey league game left 41-year-old Pam Verr seriously injured. Initially diagnosed with a separated shoulder, Pam underwent extensive physical therapy. After months of hard work provided little relief, her rehabilitation team urged Pam to see Loyola’s Guido Marra, MD, associate professor, Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation, Orthopaedic Surgery.

“From my first visit, Dr. Marra was very thorough, attentive and patient,” Pam remembered. “I was thrilled that his specialties were elbows and shoulders. When he said I had a rotator cuff injury that could only be fixed with surgery, I figured there probably wasn’t anything going on in my shoulder that he hadn’t seen before.”

Following successful surgery, Pam returned home with an innovative tubing system strapped to her shoulder. To relieve her post-operative pain, she would click a button to pump ice-cold water from a portable cooler into the tubes. “It worked better than any painkiller medicine,” she said.

Three days later, Pam began her second round of physical therapy. For the next six months, she endured the pain of rehab, three nights a week, two hours a night. Her reward: A 100 percent recovery that returned her to the rink.

About 18 months after her first surgery, Pam suffered a serious (non-hockey) injury to her other shoulder. “I had so much confidence in Loyola that I never considered going anywhere else.” Once again, Dr. Marra explained that only surgery could return her to her active lifestyle, including competitive hockey.

Dr. Marra performed both operations at the outpatient surgical center at the Loyola Center for Ambulatory Surgery at Oakbrook Terrace North. “It is close to my home in Downers Grove, and my follow-up visits were at another location within two miles of my office. Being able to go to the facilities that were so convenient was great for me.”

Pam returned to the ice, only to suffer yet another serious setback in 2008. This time it was an elbow. Dr. Marra said physical therapy alone would heal her injury. Earlier this year, following her fourth regimen of extensive rehab and now 48 years old, Pam again laced up her skates. In true storybook fashion, she scored four points (two goals, two assists) in her first two games back.

“I never missed a rehab session,” Pam said. “I gave it 150 percent because I never wanted to look back with regrets. I always felt Loyola was on the same page, constantly encouraging me and keeping me positive.”

For an appointment or more information about Loyola’s sports medicine expertise, call (888) LUHS-888.