Interdisciplinary LCMC Health care teams enable patient to chase his dream
LCMC Health
New Orleans, La.
When Enzo woke up in the ICU at University Medical Center New Orleans, he couldn’t feel his legs. A car accident had fractured his C5 vertebra, and his dream of attending the University of Notre Dame to study mechanical engineering and music, suddenly felt out of reach. The University Medical Center trauma team sprang into action. Neurosurgeon John C. Steck, M.D., and resident Taylor Girolamo, M.D., performed an emergency cervical corpectomy to relieve pressure on his spinal cord. “Dr. Girolamo told us Enzo’s spinal cord wasn’t severed, and that was good news,” said Enzo’s mother, Stacy. “But she was also realistic with us. She said we had to be patient because they didn’t know if or when he would walk again.”
That patience — and the care he received — changed everything. During Enzo’s recovery and physical therapy at Touro Rehabilitation Center, an interdisciplinary team built a personalized plan to help Enzo regain independence. Physical therapist Abigail Wright, DPT, and occupational therapist Kayleigh Redd, OT, worked together to turn each milestone into motivation for Enzo. Just over a month after his accident, Enzo walked out of Touro on his own. Today, he’s back to playing trumpet and thriving at Notre Dame — a goal that once seemed impossible. “The care I received at both University Medical Center and Touro felt like personal care…,” Enzo said. “Every nurse met me with a smile, and the therapists pushed me every day.”