F
e a t u r e
It was New Year’s Eve 2010, and
Bart Skelton was doing what he
loved most in his spare time: rock
crawling. Te 37-year-old from
Duncanville was enjoying his out-
ing in an of-road park in Tennes-
see, only to have it abruptly end
in a crushing accident.
Rock crawling is an extreme form
of of-road driving in a modifed four-
wheel-drive vehicle, such as the Jeep that
Mr. Skelton drove. Drivers travel over
harsh terrains in locations that may in-
clude obstacles such as boulders, mountain
foothills or trails, or rock piles.
As Mr. Skelton and his passenger were
enjoying a crawl down a rock, he felt that
his vehicle needed to be redirected slightly
away from the rock wall, which was to
his lef. He attempted to do that by shif-
ing his weight a bit to his right. Te next
thing he knew, the Jeep was rolling over,
over and over.
“My lef arm and hand were caught
and wrapped around about a half-inch
pipe that was part of the roll cage,”
Mr. Skelton said. His lef arm and hand
were trapped, being beaten and torn with
every fip. When the Jeep came to rest on
its rear end, Mr. Skelton stepped out of
the cab to fnd blood, torn fesh and bone
fragments on the ground—and then he
saw his lef hand hanging by a thread of
skin to the lower part of his mangled arm.
A nurse and her partner crawling in a
vehicle behind Mr. Skelton’s immediately
jumped out to do damage control on
Mr. Skelton’s injury while they waited for
an ambulance to take him to Murray Re-
gional Hospital in Columbia, Tenn.
SAVING AN ARM
“Te doctor who took
care of me in Tennessee frst told me that
my arm would have to be amputated,”
Mr. Skelton said. “When he learned that I
lived near Birmingham, he sent me straight
to UAB, where my hand was reattached.”
When Mr. Skelton got there, tendons
were reattached, plates were put in his
wrist and skin was grafed from his lef
thigh to replace and repair missing fesh
in his arm and hand.
Mr. Skelton was hospitalized for more
than 30 days. He lost 45 pounds during
that time, and because he has diabetes,
which can interfere with healing, his arm
and hand were given a 20 percent survival
rate. But Mr. Skelton beat the odds and
started hand therapy at DCH Outpatient
Hand Terapy in March 2011.
“Te frst day Bart came for therapy,
there was no movement of his lef hand
or wrist,” said Janice P. Eason, a Licensed
and Registered Occupational Terapist and
Certifed Hand Terapist at DCH Outpa-
tient Hand Terapy. “When injuries are
as severe as Bart’s, a precise prediction is
difcult to make because you don’t know
how the patient will heal, how hard they
will work and if the pain will allow them to
participate at the highest level of therapy.”
Once again, Mr. Skelton beat the odds.
“His progress has been almost miracu-
lous,” Mrs. Eason said in July. “His gain in
movement is better than some with a less
severe injury. Bart’s wrist and hand never
will be totally normal, but he will be able
to use his hand.
“His surgeon said Bart at six months
already had the movement he expected
at 12 months.”
Mr. Skelton was very pleased that he
could move his wrist a bit and delighted
that he could almost make a fst with his
lef hand. During the summer, he was able
to return to work as a pipe ftter, and he
was capable of welding, which is his trade.
“You never realize how much you use
both of your hands,” Mr. Skelton said. “I
couldn’t zip my pants, brush my teeth or
wash the right side of my body. I had to
think more about how to do simple things.
“I wouldn’t be any better without the
splints that Janice made especially for
me,” he said. “Without therapy, I would
be unable to use my lef hand. If you have
a hand injury, you need a hand specialist
for your therapy.”
Mrs. Eason said: “As a hand therapist,
it is so rewarding to cheer on a patient,
especially when they are beating the odds.”
DCH OUTPATIENT HAND THERAPY
DCH Outpatient Hand Terapy specializes
in rehabilitation of injuries to the hand and
arm. Te team of occupational therapists,
including two certifed hand therapists,
serves patientswho have arthritis, orthopedic
injuries, cumulative trauma and industrial
injuries. Te professionals provide custom
splinting and therapy based on the latest
medical advancements and the specifc needs
of the patient. To learn more, go to
www.dchsystem.com/therapy.
HELPING HAND: Certified Hand Therapist Janice P. Eason made the therapy brace specially for Bart Skelton to wear, using
banjo keys and string to adjust as needed during a therapy session.
HOORAY FOR HAND THERAPY! Bart Skelton was particularly proud when he
could make a fist, something he was told he’d never be able to do.
DCH OUTPATIENT HAND
THERAPY HELPS PEOPLE
WITH HAND OR ARM INJURIES
hand!
“Without therapy, I would be unable to
use my left hand. If you have a hand
injury, you need a hand specialist.”
—B
art
S
kelton
GIVE THEM A
F A L L 2 0 1 1
!
H E A L T H Y C O M M U N I T Y