Emily Claire’s Transformation: A Pain-Free Knee and a New Life Path

Emily Claire’s Transformation: A Pain-Free Knee and a New Life Path

Cover story previously published in Rite Up, 2024 – Issue 3.

by Kristi Shewmaker

Emily Claire, of Plano, spends most of her time raising two pigs — Dolly and Kenny, named after Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. Like the country legends, Dolly and Kenny are not related. Every morning and evening, the 17-year-old drives to the barn to take care of them where they show their affection for her in different ways. “Dolly gets the zoomies,” Emily Claire says. “She’ll run laps in her pen, but Kenny just sits there with puppy dog eyes looking at me. He also likes to cuddle. Dolly, not so much, but Kenny will lay across my lap.”

Emily Claire is president of the FFA Plano chapter and secretary of Area V’s District VII for the state of Texas, which is part of the National FFA Organization, historically known as Future Farmers of America. She recently attended the Texas FFA State Convention in Houston. “It’s a lot more than just showing animals or being a farmer,” she says. Through FFA, she has engaged in leadership and career development events that will serve her throughout her senior year of high school and beyond.

Dr. Henry B. Ellis

As a young teen, Emily Claire had her heart set on playing softball. She played for school and select teams and had dreamed of playing at the collegiate level. But, she started experiencing pain in her knee, leading to multiple incidents of partial dislocation. The first time, she was crossing the street. “My kneecap slipped out, and I fell to the ground, literally in the middle of the street,” she says. “It was embarrassing.” The second time, she fell at softball practice, but each time, her kneecap went back into place. Then, in the fall of 2021 during her freshman year of high school, her kneecap fully dislocated at catcher practice. “I was in my squat throwing down to second base, and I popped up to throw, and my kneecap just locked out,” she says. “I couldn’t move it. I didn’t know what was happening, and I was freaking out.”

TREATING KNEECAP INSTABILITY
An established patient at Scottish Rite for Children Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center in Frisco, Emily Claire was initially treated with a brace and a specific exercise program. Unfortunately, she experienced increasing episodes of instability in her kneecap, or patella. Recurrent episodes of patellar instability often require surgery. Henry B. Ellis, M.D. — pediatric sports medicine surgeon, sports medicine fellowship director and medical director of clinical research — performed medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction surgery on Emily Claire’s left knee.

“MPFL reconstruction is common for us in pediatric sports and those that take care of kids because kneecap instability is very common in kids,” Dr. Ellis says. “In our practice at Scottish Rite, it is one of the most common conditions that we treat.”

When Emily Claire’s kneecap dislocated, it tore an important ligament that holds the patella in place. In surgery, Dr. Ellis replaced the torn ligament with a new one to give her kneecap stability. However, patellofemoral instability is complicated. Sometimes, it requires more than simply replacing a ligament. At the end of the femur, or thigh bone, is a groove called the trochlear groove. The patella fits into this groove, and when the knee bends or straightens, the patella slides up and down in the groove. Emily Claire’s kneecap was not aligned in the groove because of the position of her tibial tubercle, the bony bump on the upper part of the shin where the patellar tendon attaches. “Her kneecap was living off to the side,” Dr. Ellis says. To mitigate this problem, he performed a procedure to shift Emily Claire’s tibial tubercle, which aligned her kneecap in the groove and ensured that it would track and glide correctly.

REHABILITATING BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT
MPFL surgery stabilized and corrected Emily Claire’s kneecap. What came next would change the direction of her life. Her knee injury and rehabilitation served as a catalyst that led her to discover her dream career. Throughout her care journey, she received treatment from Dr. Ellis and a multidisciplinary team, including physician assistant Ben Johnson, registered nurse Tammy Norris, physical therapist Katie Sloma, child life specialists, psychologists and athletic trainers, among others.

After surgery, Emily Claire met physical therapist Katie Sloma for a physical therapy evaluation. “I remember talking to Katie and asking her questions,” Emily Claire says. “I was really curious about her job.” For weeks, Emily Claire was on crutches, wore a brace and could not bear weight on her leg. “I got a really good tan line at the softball field with stripes going across my leg,” she says. “It was very humbling having two different size quads.”

Katie worked with Emily Claire on quad strengthening, range of motion and mobility through manual therapeutic exercises and aquatic therapy.

“Emily Claire always came in with a smile and ready to work,” Katie says. “She was curious about the process and liked to remain informed, which was cool for us to see.”

For several months, Emily Claire could not play softball. Then, slowly, she was reintroduced to the game part time, but ultimately, her team broke up during her sophomore year. “I was like, ‘OK, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now,’” she says. She recalls trying out for other teams, but her knee had not fully recovered. “I wasn’t getting called back,” she says. “It was like nobody wanted me, and that was really degrading, and I was like, ‘Am I even supposed to play softball anymore?’”

Things began to change in 2023 when Emily Claire attended the FFA Collin County show. “Everybody there was just so nice and comforting. It felt like a place that I belonged,” she says. “So, I went home and cried about it a lot, and I was like, ‘I just don’t think softball’s for me.’”

OPTIMIZING CARE THROUGH EXPERT TEAMWORK
Emily Claire continued to gain strength and increase athletic conditioning by working with athletic trainers while participating in Scottish Rite’s Bridge Program.
“In our care of any youth athlete, one of the biggest advantages that we have at Scottish Rite is the ability to work together,” Dr. Ellis says. “When someone presents a problem, we offer solutions, but we do it not just as a physician to patient, but as Scottish Rite as a whole.”

Physician assistant Ben Johnson agrees. “The care we provide is a team-based approach with all team members focused on a singular goal of getting patients like Emily Claire back to doing what they love to do without limitations,” he says. The exceptional dynamic of Scottish Rite’s continuum of care results in optimal outcomes for patients. “The key to Emily Claire’s success is the fact that she had an opportunity to work with our team together,” Dr. Ellis says.

Emily Claire liked the team she worked with so much she decided to join it. Over the summer, she interned at the Frisco campus’ Movement Science Lab, processing data for a neurocognitive research study. “I have received so much at Scottish Rite — and not just care,” she says. “Everybody here is so kind and loving, and they want to help you not just get better and achieve your goals, but they’re willing to help you learn.”

Emily Claire’s time at Scottish Rite has inspired her to become a physical therapist. “Instead of something that I had to go to, physical therapy became something that I looked forward to,” she says. “Everyone was there for me.” Katie shares that Emily Claire’s interest in the field of physical therapy was rewarding to her as a provider. “It shows that her time at Scottish Rite made a positive impact on her even when things got hard,” Katie says.

Upon reflection, Emily Claire explains that her care journey also changed her mental health. “It showed me that I was more unhappy than I was happy playing softball, and that softball wasn’t for me,” she says. “I thought I was going to let so many people down
if I didn’t play, but it opened my eyes and showed me that I like doing FFA a lot more.”

Recently, Emily Claire received the news that she was accepted to her college of choice, Tarleton State University, where she will pursue a degree in kinesiology. Upon graduation, she plans to attend physical therapy school. But for now, she is enjoying her senior year, beginning this fall, when she shows her superstars, Dolly and Kenny, at the State Fair of Texas.

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Surmounting Setback Through Strength

Surmounting Setback Through Strength

Published in Rite Up, 2023 – Issue 2. 
 
Running intensely down the long runway, Lawrence launched into a roundoff, followed by five no-handed back handsprings and then a back handspring into a double pike. Landing sharply on the mat with all of the pressure on her ankles, she fell to the ground. “I was in terrible pain, and I just remember paramedics coming over,” says 16-year-old Lawrence, of Richardson. That day in June of 2022, Lawrence broke both of her ankles at the USA Gymnastics® Championships in the trampoline and tumbling event in Des Moines, Iowa. “I was really scared that I wouldn’t be able to tumble anymore,” she says.

A girl doing a handstand in front of a sign that says gymnastics

An elite power tumbler, Lawrence has been a gymnast since she was 5. “I would flip all around the house,” Lawrence says. “I’d flip off the couch, make up routines on my bed and outside with my friends at recess. I’ve always had a passion for it.”
 
After a trip to the emergency room in Des Moines, Lawrence and her family decided to wait until they got back to Dallas to have surgery. “It was the longest car ride ever,” says Hollis, Lawrence’s mother, “but I knew the wonderful reputation of Scottish Rite for Children because I used to work there as a physical therapist, and I had heard that Dr. Ellis was the person we needed to see.”

A few days later, Lawrence found herself in the care of pediatric orthopedic sports medicine surgeon and medical director of clinical research Henry B. Ellis, M.D., and a multidisciplinary team of experts at the Scottish Rite for Children Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center in Frisco. After having surgery on both ankles, Lawrence underwent a treatment plan that included having splints on both legs and then successively wearing casts, boots and braces before she could walk without aid. For many weeks, she was in a wheelchair until she could use crutches. “The lack of things I could do made me feel pretty hopeless,” Lawrence says. “I stayed in bed all day. I couldn’t do anything on my own, even go to the bathroom or take a shower.”

During her visits at Scottish Rite, Lawrence received a continuum of care in body, mind and spirit, including support from physician assistant Ben Johnson, P.A.-C., A.T.C., pediatric nurse practitioner Heather Barnes, D.N.P., child life specialist Marissa Willis, CCLS, and pediatric psychologist Emily Stapleton, Psy.D. “Dr. Stapleton talked to me every visit about how I was feeling mentally, which I didn’t take into consideration before the injury,” Lawrence says. “I thought I’d just be lying in bed, and then I’d get up and be fine, but it was a lot harder than I expected mentally. She really helped me discover things that I like to do besides tumbling, like reading and doing crafts.”

Hollis says that for her as a parent, Scottish Rite for Children means trust. “I totally and completely trust the doctors, nurses, support staff and therapists,” Hollis says. “Once we were in the hands of Scottish Rite, I knew Lawrence would be okay.”

A woman stands in front of a green wall with her arms crossed

After a few months, Lawrence started walking and began the recovery process. “I was so excited to get strong, work out and do normal things that I took for granted like walking with my friends,” Lawrence says. “It might take a village to get elite athletes back after a bad injury,” Dr. Ellis says, “but the truth is that it takes a special patient with resilience, strength — both mental and physical — and perseverance.”
 
Today, Lawrence is back in the gym taking power tumbling classes and learning a new specialization called acrobatics and tumbling, a sport that combines gymnastics and the athletic aspects of competitive cheerleading. She takes private lessons from Hope Bravo, the 2019 U.S. tumbling bronze medalist who also competed in the Acrobatics and Tumbling program at Baylor® University. Lawrence says that Baylor’s program is the best, and she aspires to join the team when she graduates from high school. “

The care I received at Scottish Rite was amazing,” Lawrence says. “Though the injury set me back and that was really difficult, I’m glad I am where I am now because I didn’t think that would be possible. I love what I’m doing now. I have new goals, and I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”
 
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