Every Step of the Way

By Leslie Mikell

Wilhelmina Cassidy, a Cheraw resident, lives life to the fullest. She enjoys cooking, decorating and planning events, and even making T-shirts in her home.

However, an accident from her past left her with limited mobility, making it difficult to do the things she loved. 

In 2010, while unloading boxes off the trailer bed of a truck, Wilhelmina lost her footing, and her leg slipped between the tires. Her left leg and multiple bones in her feet were broken, leaving her with several compound fractures. As a result of the accident, Wilhelmina underwent 13 surgeries and procedures to repair and restore her feet, and after healing, her left leg was shorter than her right leg by two and a half inches.

Throughout the years since those initial surgeries, she still had persistent pain in her lower leg. Due to their uneven length, her left leg and foot slowly rotated inward, causing her to stand unevenly. 

This altered her gait, causing her to walk on the inside of her left foot, and the left big toe could not bend. Wilhelmina also had to wear a built-up shoe on one foot to accommodate the difference in height. This had severe effects on her knee, hip and lower back.

As more time passed, she could no longer drive, was primarily using a wheelchair, and relied heavily on her family for help getting around. Standing for long periods, and even walking, became too challenging and painful.

“After seeing the pain I had been in for so long, my primary care provider, Jackie Stafford, DNP, encouraged me to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jason O’Dell at McLeod Orthopaedics in Florence,” Wilhelmina recalls.

“When I met Dr. O’Dell, he studied my leg, thought for a minute, and looked at me and said, ‘I can fix that, but you will have to work with me.'”

Wilhelmina had reservations that anything could be done to improve her condition, after already having so many corrective surgeries, but she promised him she would do whatever it takes if it meant she would stand straight again.

In October 2023, Dr. O’Dell performed her surgery at McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence. During that procedure, he lengthened her leg just below the knee, and he also repaired a non-healing wound at the lower leg angulation site that he was initially concerned was related to chronic infection. Fortunately, Dr. O'Dell ruled this out. 

“In the limb lengthening process, the first step is surgery, where we create a gap in the bone and install the external fixator, which is a lengthening device attached to the bone with pins from the outside,” says 

Dr. O’Dell. “In Wilhelmina’s case, we used a 'double frame,' which allowed us to correct and compress angulation at the lower leg while simultaneously lengthening the leg above.

“Then, the bone is slowly separated. We can lengthen a leg by about one millimeter a day, and once the leg is at the correct length, the body will naturally grow new bone to fill the gap,” he adds.

It can take upwards of six to nine months to lengthen a limb. Her husband, Warren, used a special hand tool to turn the pins on the external fixator every day at their home. 

“Having strong family support is essential to the success of these surgeries,” Dr. O’Dell says.

In each follow-up visit after surgery, her X-rays showed gradual progress, with her left leg slowly getting longer and straightening out. As the healing progressed and the length approached symmetry, Wilhemina began placing weight on the leg. 

Once the lengthening process yielded an equal leg length, she returned to the operating room to have the frame removed and a plate inserted.

Throughout the entire process, Wilhelmina remained dedicated to her outpatient physical therapy in Cheraw, determined to help herself heal.

One year after her surgery, Wilhelmina has regained her independence and no longer needs the wheelchair. Her legs have straightened and are the same length again, her feet sit flat on the floor, and she can wear normal shoes again. This has also resolved her knee, hip and back pain.

 “I thank God when I get out of bed each morning, that I can walk again and do the things I enjoy. Before, I needed help to get up, I struggled to get around and could not drive. Now, I can go up and down the steps, and I am able to help care for my mother again,” she says.

“I’m so grateful to Dr. O’Dell and all the nurses and doctors who work with him. He is a good doctor and a good man, and I would recommend him to everyone,” Wilhelmina adds. 

“He’s friendly, takes his time and is so patient. He walked with me every step of the way.”