When Getting Back On Your Feet Is The First Step

Imogene and Larry Cosby at their 50th anniversary celebration In early April 2013, Larry Cosby, 67, rode out on his ATV to check the cattle on his Claiborne County farm.
“I was riding and going up sideways on a hill. We had a lot of rain so the ground was slick, so it starts to tip over,” Cosby said. “I put my left foot down and my foot slipped; I had to get off the four-wheeler quickly, getting up on my left foot.”
Cosby managed to hop off the ATV fast enough not to be crushed by the machine, but the twisting motion of his leg sent pain shooting through his hip. “I got up and picked my stuff back up, but my hip was sore,” he said.
Thinking he’d just strained a muscle, Cosby ignored the pain for a while. “I hopped around for two weeks, then finally went the doctor,” he said.
A local nurse practitioner referred him to orthopedic surgeon Dr. Paul Yau at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center. After an X-ray and an MRI, Cosby was diagnosed with a fracture in his hip, a partial break in the upper part of his femur (thigh) bone.
Because hip fractures can lead to serious complications, Yau scheduled Cosby for surgery early the next morning, a Saturday. During the surgery, Yau installed three screws into the fractured bone to hold it together while it healed.
“My pain was better immediately. I couldn’t believe it,” said Cosby. “I had no pain. When I woke up they took me back to my room. I didn’t go back to bed, I sat in a chair.”
By lunchtime on Saturday, Cosby had walked 500 feet down the hall with a walker. By that evening, he had set the walker aside and headed down the hall without it.
“I talked (Dr. Yau) into letting me go home on Sunday because I didn’t have pain. He talked me into a prescription, but I didn’t need them a lot. I had no pain. He asked me, on a scale of 1 to 10, what’s your pain? I said zero.” Recovery for Cosby has been swift, probably because of his determination to get back to normal and work on his farm. And yes, he still rides the ATV.
“I don’t ride it fast like these young people do. I go slow,” he said.
Cosby said he would recommend Fort Sanders to anyone who needs orthopedic care. His wife of 50 years, Imogene, also had orthopedic surgery at Fort Sanders and was pleased.
“Nobody wants to go to hospital, but if anyone needs to, I recommend they go to Fort Sanders,” said Cosby. “They’re a fine hospital, with real nice people, and they do a good job.
“It’s the finest hospital I’ve ever walked through the doors of, because of the people and the care they give.”