The New York Times Magazine features an essay written by U.S. Army Veteran and HSS patient Elana Duffy discussing the injuries she incurred to her right leg and ankle during her Iraq deployment in 2005.

Duffy wrote, “What I didn’t know at the time was that the injuries I suffered in these two incidents had inflicted such complex and significant damage to my body that they would end my military career and leave me in nearly constant, and sometimes excruciating, pain. My daily life and my personal relationships were overtaken by my injuries and the new ones they repeatedly caused.”

Upon her return to the U.S., Duffy noted she underwent an ankle assessment which indicated several ligament tears and a chip broken away from the bone. For more than a year, Army doctors tried to repair her ankle, however over time the muscles atrophied. By 2019, the damage was so extensive and surgery was unavoidable. Duffy met with S. Robert Rozbruch, MD, chief of Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service at HSS, who recommended the option of osseointegration surgery, which would entail amputating her right leg at midcalf. After much consideration, Duffy decided to undergo the surgery.

It’s been more than 12 months since Duffy’s surgery and she is living pain free, returning to fundamental activities such as climbing the stairs and her interest of climbing.

Read the full article at NYTimes.com.