Brainerd surgeon’s care extends to whole family

BY MELINDA LAVINE

Grace Marcum heard her bones break.

“Krrk,” she recalled, mimicking a snapping sound.

The Pequot Lakes youth sustained injuries during gymnastics practice while attempting an aerial, or a no-hands cartwheel.

The move calls for a leg lift powerful enough to drive the body off the ground to complete a timed rotation in the air. Grace landed on her forearm, which absorbed the full impact of her weight and the force of her effort.

The result: a dangling wrist and a fractured bone that nearly poked through her skin.

Heather Marcum said she felt “frantic.” Her then-7-year-old daughter screamed from the pain during the nearly 30-minute drive from Pequot Lakes to Essentia Health-St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd.

“I probably woke up the whole hospital,” Grace said of their arrival.

Medical staff cared for Grace with pain medicine and her arm was wrapped.

Afterward, the mother and daughter returned home, a decision Marcum said she nearly regretted, adding, “But then, we wouldn’t have met Dr. Metz.”

‘TOUGH’

Grace broke one bone completely in half and fractured another in her arm on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. The Marcums met Essentia orthopedic surgeon Dr. Christopher Metz on a Tuesday, and Metz conducted surgery on Grace’s arm Wednesday.

Adding a cast is considered surgery in this case because the patient receives anesthesia, and the surgeon needs to reline the bone under an X-ray machine.

It was amazing to see how the bones reconnected after the bad breaks, said Marcum.

Metz recalled the surgery, which took place on his birthday. “You were tough, you know that?” he directed at Grace.

Metz’s care extended to the whole family.

“It’s difficult to be patient and watch your child go through it,” Marcum said, “but working with Metz made it easier.

“He was very knowledgeable and thorough. He made you feel comfortable, and he helped soothe anxiety.

“You feel like your questions are answered,” Marcum continued.

Grace wore a cast for six weeks and during a follow-up appointment, Marcum raised concern over a bump that developed on her daughter’s arm.

Metz stepped out of the room to retrieve a book, which he used as a guide to explain to the family the bump would resolve itself in time.

And, it did, Marcum said.

Grace, now 9, remembered feeling shy with Metz at first. After a few visits, she saw her surgeon’s kindness, helpfulness and humor.

“Once my brother came, and Dr. Metz said, ‘Who’s getting coal for Christmas?’” Grace said.

It took Grace some time to use her healed arm like she had in the past. Today, though, the injured extremity is just like new, and it feels like it did before her accident.

“That's exactly what we want to hear,” said Metz.

While Grace is back to practicing gymnastics regularly, she hasn’t tried another aerial.

But, just like her arm’s healing process, it’s only a matter of time.