By Dana G.
Last May, my 18-year-old son had a motorcycle accident and severely fractured his left clavicle. After two visits to local specialists and surgeons, I was disappointed by their prognosis…one said do nothing even though my son’s bones were bayoneted, almost poking through his skin; and the other said he should have surgery with a hip graft and 5” metal plate with six screws. This would leave a huge scar, his one arm would be shortened and he would most likely have back pain in his forties. …as a medical librarian, I said to myself, “I wonder what InfoTrac could tell me?
I typed in “Clavicle fracture treatment” in the main menu and hit search. An article entitled, “Tough break,” came up explaining that Dr. Carl Basamania, the Chief Surgeon at Duke University had developed a minimally invasive technique that straightens the bones and completely restores the patient’s clavicle with full usage. I Googled him and found out he had moved to The Polyclinic in Seattle, Washington. I called and talked to his medical assistant, Ha, and she said to FedEx Danny’s MRI, Catscan and x-rays. I did.
Dr. Basamania called me the next day and said he could absolutely restore Danny’s shoulder. We booked our flights on June 13. Met with the Dr. in Seattle on June 14, Dan had surgery for three hours on June 15, we flew back on June 16 and Danny graduated from Palisades High School as Class President on June 16. WHEW! He had a six-inch pin and on February 23, my husband and Dan flew back to Seattle to have the pin removed. They returned on February 26 with a DVD of his before picture, his after picture, and the six-inch pin. Danny is so happy and is feeling great.
As a parent, librarian, researcher, I am FOREVER grateful to Gale Cengage and the power of InfoTrac. I tell this story over and over and over in EVERY Student orientation here at Lincoln Technical Institute. I also have been on a national conference call with 40 other librarians from Lincoln Tech sharing my story. Since I have shared my story, a student used Infotrac for her little girl’s eye dysfunction and was connected to a pilot program at Harvard’s teaching hospital in Boston.The little girl had eye surgery over Christmas and her eyes are PERFECT! So, we are very grateful for the incredible academic research and the quality of the content available on InfoTrac.nike zoom kd iv weatherman ebay shoes for sale
Libraries transform lives – and information empowers all of us. Thanks to all those who have databases made public for our use!