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I completed medical school at Michigan State University and then did my orthopedic surgery residency at Akron General, where I was fortunate to have two female attending physicians who really mentored me. I did a fellowship in Hand Microsurgery and Upper Extremity surgery at the Christine M. Kleinert Institute for Hand and Microsurgery at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
My undergraduate degree is in music, and I made a career of that for a couple of years. When I decided to go into medicine, surgery seemed like a natural fit for me. Both music and surgery require technical precision. I knew immediately that I loved surgery. As I went through training, I found I really liked orthopedic surgery. The musculoskeletal system is very complicated and is even more intricate in the hand. Hand and microsurgery are very fine, meticulous, and tedious work. It is not for everyone, but I love it. I liked that I could fix broken bones and put joints back into place. More than that, though, I liked that I could help people improve their daily lives as a female orthopedic surgeon. When a patient recovers from orthopedic surgery, they go back to living. I like helping people to be able to do the things that make life worth living.
I am originally from Michigan, but my family came to this area in the summer throughout my childhood. My grandparents have a lake house in Sandusky, so I have always been attracted to this area. I have had personal experience with Firelands Regional Medical Center, so I knew it was a good hospital. When I completed my training as an orthopedic surgeon, the practice I joined was looking to add a physician, specifically a hand surgeon.
I really enjoy the small-town feel of this area. In a bigger city, physicians don’t get to see patients out living their lives, and they don’t always get to see the results of their work. Here, when I operate on someone, I love seeing them getting back to health and being happy. It is so rewarding to have that personal interaction with patients. This is something that makes working at Firelands and in this region as a female orthopedic surgeon unique.
