 |
It Started with an Explosion, but Ended as a Miracle
After a severe hand injury, Jersey Shore's Outpatient Rehabilitation Center gave Maria back her
ability to crochet.
As Maria Maginec was being rushed
to the Regional Trauma Center at
Jersey Shore University Medical
Center, she still couldn't believe what had
happened. One minute she was lighting
what she thought was a candle, and the
next minute tragedy struck. Maria, 56,
had accidentally lit a firework, and it had
exploded in her hand. She arrived at the
trauma center with powder burns to her
face and legs, multiple fractures in her
hand, and a severely burned palm. "I didn't
know what happened to me, all I knew was
that I was in extreme pain," recalls Maria.
The plastic surgeon on call that night
was Michael I. Rose, M.D. When Dr. Rose
arrived and saw Maria's hand, he realized
it was in very bad shape. But he told
Maria, "Don't worry, we can fix this."
Dr. Rose performed several surgeries
on Maria's hand. "Maria had severe
nerve and soft tissue damage, and
needed to have four of her fingertips
amputated from the top knuckle," says
Dr. Rose. "But I maximized the use of
her healthy tissues and inserted pins and
screws to rebuild her fingers. This restored
the ability of her fingers to move and
function to almost 100 percent."
Maria was happy her fingers were
saved, but she still couldn't move them
well and her entire hand was very swollen
and scarred. This is when Maria met Mary
Ann Kotran, an occupational therapist at
Jersey Shore University Medical Center's
Outpatient Rehabilitation Center. "When Maria came to me to start her rehab, she
was afraid to use her hand," explains Mary
Ann. "But I explained to her how important
it was that we work right away on
range of motion. So we focused on functional
activities along with wound care."
Since Maria was only coming to
rehabilitation three times a week, she
needed to do exercises on her own at
home. "I sent her home with a program to
normalize sensation and increase the functionality
of her hand," explains Mary Ann.
"She took her program seriously and worked extremely hard. Each week
I saw significant progress, and she now
has about 85 percent movement in her
fingers, which is a miracle considering
the severity of her injury."
Today, Maria is happy as she talks about
crocheting and how she is so thankful
to Mary Ann and Dr. Rose for giving her
back a normal life. "I wouldn't have made
it out of the house or be able to do many
of the things I used to do if it hadn't been
for Mary Ann helping me every step of the
way," she says.
 – Brenda Groeller
|
