After years of pain, three patients found a path forward

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - For 73-year-old Cheryl Jenkins, a serious elbow injury changed how she moved through everyday life.

After an accident in 2018, Jenkins underwent surgery elsewhere for an elbow fracture-dislocation that remained ununited and chronically dislocated.

For seven years, she lived with pain and limited use of her arm.

Even while working, she had to adapt.

"I had to learn to write and do things with my left hand, and I was working at the time, so I was having to do everything with my left hand for the most part," she said.

Eventually, Jenkins began searching for another option: She found Russell Huffman, MD, medical director of shoulder and elbow surgery at AdventHealth Rothman Orthopedics.

"I felt a connection when I first sat there and talked with him, and he looked at my arm, and he says, 'Oh, no, we could do this,'" she said.

Dr. Huffman performed a custom total elbow arthroplasty. Today, Jenkins is able to use her arm normally, something she notices in simple moments, such as holding a glass.

"I couldn't even pick up a glass without wondering if it was going to go. It was weird. But I have strength back, and I'm just so grateful for that," Jenkins said.

Doug Lawton's story began much earlier. Lawton, 76, lost a leg above the knee after a shark bite as a boy in Florida.

Unable to comfortably use a prosthesis, he relied heavily on crutches for decades, placing extraordinary demands on his shoulders.

"So, after 40-something years of using crutches, yes, the shoulders gave out," he said.

Multiple shoulder surgeries followed, but the problems persisted.

Lawton eventually came to Dr. Huffman, who revised his shoulder using a custom glenoid component.

The result gave back Lawton something essential to his independence.

"I had lost my ability to use the crutches. It was too painful and awkward, and I've gotten that back," he said.

Dan Dewoody, 64, arrived with a different history but a familiar problem: a previous shoulder replacement had failed.

His shoulder problems stretched back decades to a farm tractor accident, followed by years of playing football and powerlifting.

By the time he sought another solution, pain was affecting nearly every part of his life.

"I'm a pretty stout guy. I can handle a lot of pain, and it was to the point where I just couldn't take it anymore," he said.

Dewoody underwent a revision to reverse the shoulder replacement with a custom glenoid component.

His experience with Dr. Huffman and the care team left an impression beyond the procedure itself:

"Well, it's given me faith in humanity again," he said.

Three patients, three histories and three complex revision surgeries all performed at AdventHealth Altamonte Springs.

Dr. Huffman said each requires looking beyond the affected joint.

"If I look at the elbow or shoulder out of context of the patient, I may be doing them a disservice," he said.

That approach is deeply connected to his faith.

"I'll be honest with you, I pray a lot before I do surgeries, and I pray before I see patients. And I do think that makes a big difference," he said.

For Dr. Huffman, healing is also something no surgeon accomplishes alone.

"I didn't heal them. I participated in providing care and partner with them in healing," he said.

He credits the team surrounding each patient, including those at AdventHealth Altamonte Springs, where these three surgeries took place.

"I can't do the surgery in isolation. There's usually about 15 people supporting any procedure I do, so it truly is a team effort," he said.

For Jenkins, Lawton and Dewoody, that effort has meant getting back pieces of everyday life that pain and failed procedures had taken away.

Dr. Huffman said that is ultimately how he thinks about success.

"It is critical to look at patients in that way: How can they function in a daily way and feel like their life is thriving, and they're not just surviving or suffering?" he said.