Kirsten Woods
Last January Kirsten had an accident which resulted in a subluxation (locking up) of the C1/C2 vertebrae. One of her neck bones very close to the skull rotates on its axis and gets stuck in a new, unstable position. A very dangerous injury, it put her spinal column at great risk. When the accident happened, Kirsten was taken to the Mayo Clinic ER near her home.
There the attending physician said that because of the severity of the injury he wanted the very best pediatric neurosurgical care available in North Florida and would call around to get consensus from other physicians. The unanimous consensus was the team of Doctors Hector James, Phillip Aldana, and Ian Heger at Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Aldana was the primary physician on Kirsten’s case and he took his time to help Kirsten and her parents understand the injury, the treatment options, the risks, and the probable outcomes. The combination of the PICU staff, together with the Neurosugical staff made Kirsten and her whole family part of the treatment team to stabilize Kirsten’s condition, get the injury corrected, and return her to the normal functions of childhood.
Today Kirsten is doing most normal things that a 9 year does. She has to be careful about high impact activities or activities involving spinning forces such as merri-go-rounds. But many activities are slowly being worked back into her daily life. She credits the wonderful staff and facilities at Wolfson Children’s Hospital just as highly as the prayers of her family and friends for her rapid return to normal life from a very dangerous injury.
Kirsten’s parents are grateful to live in a city with such wonderful pediatric care only minutes away. They felt empowered to ask questions and offer input at every step, including during AM and PM rounds on the PICU floor. This made them feel like they were doing everything possible to help their daughter get well.
