Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Meet Our Save-A-Limb Riders

Editor's Note: We've asked two former LifeBridge Health orthopedic patients to do the Save-A-Limb ride in October. As they train, they'll be sharing their experiences here on the LifeBridge Health blog. Today, meet rider Justin Newman!

When I walked down the aisle at the Maryland Zoo in November 2008, little did I know it would result in this blog post two years later, discussing recovery from knee surgery.

Following a delightful wedding (complete with Tux and Tails), my wife and I flew to Barcelona and boarded Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas to cruise across the North Atlantic back home. As the boat progressed across the ocean, my bride and I decided it would be a wonderful idea to avail ourselves of the on-board ice skating rink.

Ice skating while on a boat sailing across rough waters (30 and 40 foot waves were common) admittedly seems a bit foolish in hindsight, but at the time, perhaps it was the "newlywed glow" surrounding my head. Only a few minutes into skating, I fell, necessitating a visit to the ship's crude medical facilities and crutches for the remainder of the trip.

Upon our return to Baltimore, I sought out one of Baltimore's top orthopedic surgeons, Jon Koman. Koman, a sports medicine doctor who has specifically published articles on arthroscopic meniscal repair, seemed the right doctor to repair my left meniscus.

After the surgery and recovery in January 2009, Dr. Koman encouraged me to find a low impact physical activity to continue my recovery. While I biked to work daily in 2003 and 2004, I've hardly been on a bike since moving to Baltimore ... and promptly having my bicycle stolen. So, my wife and I found two bicycles on Craig's List for the sum total of $100, and we started doing a little riding.

Of course, without a goal, life intervenes and I haven't ridden nearly as much as I should. When given the opportunity to work with the trainers at LifeBridge Health & Fitness, I jumped at the opportunity to train for the sixty-mile Save-a-Limb Metric Century ride this fall.

When I'm not getting ready for Save-a-Limb, I'm the Chief Operating Officer of Capalon Communications, a Baltimore-based website development, hosting, and telecommunications firm, a consultant for Katz Associates, and the founder of Walter Rescue, an animal rescue group providing rescuers with access to emergency medical care for rescued dogs and cats. If I'm not on a bicycle, I'm likely to be accompanied by Joey, a 5 1/2 month-old Guide Dog Foundation service dog-in-training, as well as my lovely wife, whom I don't blame for suggesting ice skating in the North Atlantic.
-Justin Newman

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