My son had TJ surgery Monday morning. After a freshman year of college baseball when he dealt with tendonitis issues in his elbow, followed by an oblique strain and ultimately led to utilizing his redshirt option, he was excited to play summer ball in the WCL. He had a very good start to the season in the first couple weeks before he felt the unfortunate pop in his elbow while pitching on a road trip in late June. It was initially diagnosed by the team training staff as a UCL strain. He stayed in Washington for a couple weeks and attempted to rehab with a local PT facility. When it was determined that he wasn't improving in PT, he came home and we immediately set up a doctor appointment.
The process was amazingly fast...we were very fortunate. KD arrived home on Monday, July 16th. We had an appointment set with our family physician on Tuesday, July 17th. The MRI was scheduled the following day, July 18th, and it was read and diagnosed as a partial UCL Tear by the radiologist that same day. A friend recommended the Kerlan-Jobe Surgery Clinic in Los Angeles and we were able to squeeze in to see the doctor on Friday, July 20th. After discussing my son's options with the surgeon and seeking advice from others, the surgery was scheduled and completed on Monday, July 30th.
My wife and I woke up at 3:30AM on Monday morning so that we could be on the road at 4:00AM. I said my wife and I, because my son hadn't gone to sleep! He had stated all week long that he wasn't nervous? Maybe he really wasn't, if not, he was definitely quite anxious. Anyway, we arrived in Los Angeles just prior to 5:30AM. My wife helped my son complete the paperwork, and he was in pre-op by 6:15AM and in surgery at 7:30AM. The tendon was taken from his right wrist and woven into his ulna and humerus bones. In addition, the surgeon moved my son's ulnar nerve about an inch while he was in there.
KD was released around 11:30AM. As I was sitting in front of the surgery center in my Suburban waiting for him to be wheeled down from the 3rd floor, I noticed an elderly gentleman relaxing on a bench in front of the building looking at me. He looked awfully familiar, in fact, he looked like Dr. Jobe? No, I figured it wasn't him. What's he doing relaxing and watching people enter and exit the building? A few moments later a younger gentleman took him by the arm and escorted him into the building. As they walked through the lobby several employees approached the elderly man and greeted him. Well, obviously it was the 87 year old Dr. Frank Jobe. He was more than likely there visiting the facility that he helped to build with Dr. Kerlan. If my son was brought down five minutes earlier, I could have had him take a photo with the man that performed the first UCL Reconstruction Surgery on Tommy John 38 years ago....that would have been pretty cool!
Yes, it's just a bump in the road in the growth process for my son. He's going to come back stronger than ever and he has a great attitude. He has friends that had the surgery performed, and one buddy in particular is exactly three weeks removed/ahead of my son from TJ surgery, and not to mention, the same surgeon took care of both of them. You can imagine how much communication these two will have over the next several months. As for me, I have plenty of people (parents, coaches, and players) that I can turn to. Hey, if the going gets tough for my son, I can always have KD come on here and read JH's Tommy John Blog!
