Jared S.'s Story

His parents rushed him to the local, suburban hospital where his X-ray scans showed that his femur was broken into a T-shape. Jared’s parents knew he would need specialized care. That’s when they decided to bring him to Children’s National. 

Matthew Oetgen, M.D., MBA, Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, met with Jared and his parents and decided on a plan of care with a special focus on Jared’s continued growth.  

“We specialize in taking care of kids that have a lot of time to grow, so we have to take those unique aspects into consideration,” said Dr. Oetgen. 

Dr. Oetgen performed surgery to correct the fracture by inserting titanium nails into Jared’s femur to align the bone while it grew back together. Following the procedure, Jared was in a wheelchair for eight weeks while he worked through the recovery process. Jana remembers Jared being in pain for about the first two weeks of recovery, but then things started to look up. By the end of the summer, Jared still had a little limp but was ready to go back to school. 

That December, Jared came back to Children’s so that Dr. Oetgen could remove his titanium nails. By February, he was skiing with his family, and he was even able to play baseball in the spring. Jared turned 7 the following August and was totally back to being his normal, active self. 

“Dr. Oetgen has the best and most compassionate bedside manner. He was easily accessible by phone, and he talked me through everything during Jared’s recovery. Every time I got off the phone with him, I knew it was going to be okay,” says Jana. 

Sometimes treating the broken bone is the easier part of the injury to treat. Children’s providers care for each family’s emotional well-being along with each child’s health. This family-centered care helped put Jana, and Jared, at ease during their time at Children’s. 

Thanks to Dr. Oetgen’s focus on a healthy future for Jared, he’s now growing up stronger as the active kid he always was.