Up and Running

TASTE BE WELL SAVANNAH

Up and Running

An athlete’s will and a surgeon’s skill come together to beat the odds

Written by ANDREA GOTO

THE BRAIN OFTEN ENCODES

a moment of profound trauma, burning the experience into memory with vivid detail. Such was the case on Labor Day 2014 when an oncoming car impatiently swerved around a turning vehicle and plowed nearly head-on into cyclist Jim Everett, who was just three miles away from his home in Springfield, Georgia.

“It was a late-‘80s model Chevrolet Caprice classic,” Everett says. “I even remember the look on the young man’s face when he hit me.” His left leg took the brunt of the impact. “I went up in the air and came back down onto the street pretty hard,” Everett recalls. “And I thought, Wow, this isn’t good.”

Everett sat up slowly, trying to gather his wits. When he looked at his leg, he saw his shin bone had punctured his skin and was sticking out. Most likely in shock, Everett doesn’t recall feeling pain. He called his wife from his cell phone, calmly saying he’d been in an accident and he thought his leg “might” be injured. Then he called for an ambulance.

Everett, 47 at the time, was a lifelong runner chasing down a Boston Marathon qualifying time. He had become hooked on triathlons at age 40 and competed in just under a dozen each season, consistently medaling in his age group. When the accident happened, Everett was just a couple of months away from competing in Ironman Florida — his first Ironman, which is one of the most grueling single-day racing events in the world, opening with a 2.4-mile open-water swim followed by a 112-mile bicycle ride

WHEN SURGERY ISN’T NECESSARY…

Not all orthopedic injuries require surgery — but they almost always require attention. In certain cases, your physician may prescribe physical therapy to rebuild strength and movement. These local physical therapy facilities can help you cope with persistent sports injuries and potentially prevent future ailments from cropping up.

BenchMark Physical Therapy BenchMark boasts physical therapy centers all over the U.S., creating a convenient network no matter where you live. That extends to the Savannah area, too — four local outposts mean there’s likely one near you. benchmark.urpt.com

CORA Physical Therapy Like BenchMark, CORA has multiple locations, including downtown, midtown and on the islands. Services range from neuro-therapy to dry needling to good, old fashioned hands-on care. coraphysicaltherapy.com

Ledesma Sports Medicine The staff at Ledesma includes triathletes and marathon runners, allowing them to truly relate and connect to patients suffering from sports injuries. The facility offers custom care and custom equipment, like a zero-gravity treadmill. ledesmasportsmed.com

Jim Everett and Dr. Dow Hoffman

and concluding with a 26.2-mile run. Needless to say, Everett’s injury would preclude him from racing the event, and most likely any long-distance competition in the future.

Everett was within a mile of Effingham County Hospital, but because of the severity of his injury, the ambulance transported him to Memorial Hospital. He was “in orbit with pain” by the time he arrived.

In the emergency room, Everett recalls the on-call doctor coming into his room and lifting up the sheet to look at his leg. “He had this terrified look on his face, and I didn’t really know why,” Everett says. The doctor called in Dr. Dow Hoffman, a surgeon at Chatham Orthopaedics. “He lifted up the sheet, looked at me, and said, ‘Yep. It’s broke,’” Everett says, chuckling.

Everett had a fractured tibia, just below mid-shin. “It was pretty gruesome,” Hoffman recalls.

The surgery was as well: Hoffman placed a metal rod down the center of Everett’s leg to fix the break. “If you watched the surgery, you wouldn’t believe it helped the patient in any way,” Hoffman says, describing the invasive procedure.

The recovery process for such a severe injury takes about six months, which translates to a lot of therapy and weekly office visits to track progress. A patient’s final prognosis, however, is primarily patient-related, says Hoffman. “The idea that there’s something magic in the surgery just isn’t true,” he says, explaining how factors such as general health, age, body weight, lifestyle, motivation and therapy all contribute to how well patients recover.

“How bad is it?” Everett asked after the surgery.

Hoffman looked at him, paused thoughtfully, then said, “It’s the worst kind of break I ever want to see.”

Everett considered this for a moment. “How long before I get back to running?”

“I have no doubt you can get back to your normal activities,” Hoffman replied, “but let’s take it one step at a time.”

Everett recalls how the calmness in Hoffman’s voice resonated with him. “I felt a sense of trust, and that was probably the one thing that really kept me in check,” he says. “[Hoffman’s] demeanor — the way he handled the situation, the way he talked to me — it was comforting.”

It would be a long road back and one that Everett and Hoffman would travel together. The journey would also have a profound impact on both patient and doctor.

WHEN SURGERY ISN’T NECESSARY… —CONTINUED

Optim Physical Therapy Optim’s whole-body approach integrates movement patterns and improves daily function with special attention paid to leading-edge equipment and outstanding care. Optim owns the entire process from consultation to surgery to recovery and even includes imaging, all of which optimize (pun intended) the patient experience. optimhealth.com/services/ optim-therapy

SouthCoast Health Physical Therapy Gait and balance training, spinal rehab, orthotic management and joint mobilization are just a few of the many physical therapy services offered at SouthCoast, which offers locations in Savannah’s Southside and Pooler. southcoasthealth.com/ physicaltherapy

St. Joseph’s/ Candler Physical Therapy

SJC offers physical therapy at all of its fi ve outpatient rehabilitation locations, including The Landings Club Rehabilitation Center, exclusively for Landings Club members, and in Pooler. sjchs.org/a-z-services-list/ center-for-rehabilitation/ therapy-services/ physical-therapy A compound fracture is one of the most traumatic breaks. You may recall Washington Football Team quarterback Alex Smith, who suff ered such an injury on the fi eld in 2018 as viewers watched in horror. Smith’s break was complicated by infection, but in 2020 he returned to the NFL in a remarkable comeback.

The odds of the fracture healing without complications are pretty high, probably 95 percent according to Hoff man, and the odds of returning to normal activities are about 90 percent. “But I would say returning to Jim’s degree of distance running is unusual,” he says. “I can’t think of anyone I’ve ever treated with a major broken long bone who got back to running Ironman distance triathlons. Most people just hang it up after that.”

When I mention this to Everett, he is quiet for a moment. “He never shared that with me,” he says. “Dr. Hoff man never gave me a reason to think I couldn’t race again — and I attribute so much of that to my healing.” Everett pauses, then adds, “I’m humbled, quite frankly.”

Perhaps Hoff man recognized what Everett was capable of. “Over the years, you learn to read people, and in terms of patient attitude, I could really tell Jim was going to do everything possible to get better,” he says.

Eventually, Everett was able to return to running, which meant so much more than just getting back to the sport he loved; it meant being able to share it with his only child. Everett put his personal racing goals on hold and focused entirely on his son Kody, helping him to grow into a competitive cross-country runner in high school. This past fall, Kody enrolled in Jacksonville University with an athletic scholarship to run cross-country.

Everett credits Hoff man and his team for the priceless time he’s been able to spend with his son. “I kind of get choked up when I think about it ... ” Everett says, his voice trailing off . “I was very blessed to have Dr. Hoff man and his assistant, Kate McIntosh. I don’t know I would’ve gotten the same result had it been anyone else.”

Hoff man, however, puts the credit squarely on Everett. “He is as healthy as they come,” says Hoff man, “and he is a very positive person” — two qualities that got Everett back up and running, and running far. One year after the accident, he competed in a sprint triathlon, and a year after that, Ironman Louisville. He ran the Savannah Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon a mere three weeks later, missing a Boston Marathon qualifying time by just minutes.

Today, Everett is making plans to watch his son compete in the COVID-delayed season and to begin focusing on his triathlon training and running, which will eventually include trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon alongside his son. For Everett, the joy is simply being able to run with his son, but the miracle is that he’s able to compete at all.

Racing competitively requires months of vigorous training, and, come race day, Everett faces some of the most mentally and physically challenging feats of human fi tness. Then again, as Hoff man points out, Everett has already done that.

Jim Everett

“Dr. Hoffman never gave me a reason to think I couldn’t race again — and I attribute so much of

that to my healing.”—Jim Everett, Chatham Orthopaedic patient

James Bazemore, M.D.

SAVANNAH

Luis Polo, N.P.

SAVANNAH

Jorge O. Chabrier-Rossello, M.D.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Rafael David Rodriguez, M.D.

BRUNSWICK/JESUP

Erik D. Bernstein, M.D

SAVANNAH

Sarah Livengood, P.A.

SAVANNAH

Dana Kumjian, M.D.

SAVANNAH

Jessica Coleman, M.D.

SOUTH CAROLINA

William Grubb, M.D.

BRUNSWICK/JESUP

Bryan Krull, D.O.

BRUNSWICK/JESUP

Camden Helder, P.A.

BRUNSWICK/JESUP

Beth Respess, P.A.

BRUNSWICK/JESUP

Rebecca Sentman, M.D.

SAVANNAH

Mikhail Novikov, M.D.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Charles Thomas Tucker, M.D.

BRUNSWICK/JESUP

Kendra Lott, P.A.

BRUNSWICK/JESUP

SAVANNAH

1115 Lexington Ave Savannah, GA 31404 912-354-4813 BLUFFTON

16 Okatie Center Blvd Suite 100 Okatie, SC 29909 843-706-9955 BEAUFORT

16 Kemmerlin Lane Suite A Beaufort, SC 29907 843-524-2002 JESUP

111 Colonial Way Ste 2 Jesup, GA 31545 912-588-1919 RINCON

604 Towne Park West Rincon, GA 31326 912-354-4813 BRUNSWICK

3025 Shrine Road Suite 450 Brunswick, GA 31520 912-264-6133

Family Ties

CREATING A LEGACY IN LAW

CHILDREN OFTEN FOLLOW

in their parents’ footsteps, so HunterMaclean attorney Harold Yellin was not surprised when his son, Josh, gravitated to the practice of law. Josh was inquisitive as a child: he not only wanted to know the answer to a question, but why it was the answer. Harold adds, “Josh would passionately defend his position on a matter, any matter: politics, food, Atlanta Braves, just about any topic.” What did surprise Harold was Josh’s decision to return to Savannah. Harold was born in Savannah and graduated from Alfred Ely Beach High School in 1973. After attending UNC Chapel Hill, he earned his MBA and JD at Emory University, where he made two decisions that changed his life: he married his law school classmate, Peggy, and the couple left Atlanta for Savannah. Harold accepted a position at HunterMaclean, where he had clerked during law school. He started with the admiralty group but was eager to utilize his business background. With the firm’s support, Harold moved to the real estate group. He is now a regional expert in real estate and zoning/land use law. Josh, also a Savannah native, graduated from Savannah Country Day School. He moved to Boston to attend Tufts University, then to Washington, D.C., where he worked for the Department of Justice. Two years later, Josh headed to San Francisco to attend the University of California Hastings School of Law. When asked why law and why Savannah, Josh says, “I grew up surrounded by lawyers. Both of my parents are attorneys. My wife is an attorney. My sister is an attorney. As a kid, it was always exciting to pick up the newspaper or watch the local news to see the stories that my dad had been working on. When I learned about the opportunity to join HunterMaclean and assist with his practice, I knew I could not pass it up.” “That was the surprise,” Harold says. “After Josh married Ashley, a San Francisco native, I figured he would never leave there. Long story short, Josh and Ashley came to the same decision that Peggy and I did thirty years earlier: Savannah is an exceptional city in which to live and raise a family.”

A photo in Josh’s office shows a 2-and-ahalf-year-old Josh sitting at Harold’s desk. “This photo was taken about two weeks after my sister was born,” says Josh. “I guess at the time my dad’s idea of watching me was to bring me to the office so that he could get some work done.” Josh admits he has also brought his children to the office and tried to recreate the photo, but with less success. Despite some horror stories from parents who work with their children, the Yellins remain close and see the benefits of learning from each other. Harold is quick to mention that Josh has “crazy technology skills” and can navigate statutes and ordinances much faster than he can. Josh says that Harold’s “old school” approach to client management — the importance of phone calls, handshakes and the ability to lead in-person discussions around a conference table — is an invaluable resource. Family time for the Yellins typically involves Tybee. “Whether it is playing bocce on the beach or listening to the Braves on the radio,” says Josh, “there is something about being near the water that really highlights the importance of family.” Harold admits separating work from home is “aspirational,” as dinner conversations often drift into work matters, and Josh is still not used to calling his father “Harold” in the office. But the closeness of their relationship gives them a built-in advantage in the workplace, where job satisfaction and performance often depend on the simple question of how much people like their coworkers.