ORTHOPEDIC WALK-IN CLINIC keeps you in the game

WORDS : TARA EKREN, ESSENTIA HEALTH PHOTOGRAPHY : provided by AMBER ERTELT

No matter the season, there’s a sport Liam Ertelt is playing and loving. However, in the fall of 2019, he was sidelined with a broken bone in his foot and the end of the football season was spent on the bench. This is not where Liam wanted to be.

Liam’s mom, Amber, remembers the phone call explaining that he had been hurt during football practice. Working late that evening, Amber didn’t get home until Liam was in bed. After waking up in the middle of the night in pain and not being able to bear weight on his foot, Amber followed her mom instinct and brought Liam to the Essentia Health Orthopedic Walk-In Clinic the next day. “I was shocked, I really didn’t expect it to be broken, but since it was a Friday and he couldn’t put weight on it, I thought it was probably a good idea to get it checked out just in case. I’m glad I did,” shares Amber. “I’ve never had a broken bone and neither have my kids, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect.”

“Everyone hears about walk-in clinics having long wait times. However, we were in the waiting room only a minute or two before we were called back for an X-ray,” says Amber. “I figured the waiting would come once we were in the exam room, but to my surprise, the doctor came in within a few minutes!” Amber remembers, “I loved the attentiveness of both nurses and our provider, Dr. Ostlie, and I was really impressed with how quickly we were seen.”

Unfortunately for Liam, the X-ray confirmed a broken bone in his foot. For his mom, a million questions flooded her mind and she started asking them all. “Dr. Ostlie was so patient with me and all my questions. He took the time to thoroughly answer everything I asked as well as talk about things I didn’t even think of.” And, after Dr. Ostlie answered all of Amber’s questions, he talked with Liam about his questions. “I was impressed with how he took the time to talk and really listen to Liam,” Amber recalls. “He’s 10, so his big concerns were recess, gym and not being able to finish the football season, but Dr. Ostlie didn’t brush off these concerns because he knew they mattered to Liam.”

“Besides answering our questions and being very thorough in explaining our care plan, Dr. Ostlie provided information and guidelines for his coaches as well to facilitate his return to play,” Amber says. “This was an extra touch that made it so easy to know what he should and shouldn’t be doing and how far Liam could push himself.”

The attentiveness didn’t end at Liam’s appointment. “Through the whole process, I always felt like I could call and ask questions, get advice or get reassurance from Dr. Ostlie,” Amber says.

Amber and Liam left the clinic with a walking cast and made a follow-up appointment for three weeks later. As a kid who follows the rules, Liam was a model patient. “At our follow-up appointment, the break had healed very well, and Liam was back to his sports-loving self.”

“Except for the fact that Liam broke a bone in his foot, we had an excellent experience at Essentia Health,” says Amber.

Don’t let pain or injuries keep you from activities you enjoy. Be seen right away by Essentia’s team of experienced specialists dedicated to developing a treatment plan that’s right for you. Essentia Health’s Orthopedic Walk-In clinic is located within Essentia Health at 3000 32nd Ave. S. in Fargo and open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.