Orthopedic care away from home builds trust for MercyOne

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Out of town and away from their hometown hospital, Stephanie Marsau felt helpless when she watched her 8-year-old son get hit by an oncoming car.

The next minutes were a blur. The moment 8-year-old Matthew of Ames, Iowa, fell to the pavement.  Relief when she heard his screams; at least he was conscious. Rushing to his side. Pulling him onto the curb. The broken bone pointed up inside his pantleg. The call to 911, and her son asking, “Am I going to die?”

The accident on Nov. 9, 2024, would bring Matthew into the MercyOne Circle of Care -- from Waterloo to Des Moines medical centers – after he sustained two broken legs. At both hospitals, Stephanie saw excellence in orthopedic care and the kindness that made a traumatic event more comforting.

“Even though I’ve worked in health care for 13 years, it would have been a lot more reassuring to know the hospital I was going to and his care team,” Stephanie recalled of the out-of-town visit to family. “While I knew how health care works, I didn’t know MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center.” 

Arriving at MercyOne Waterloo Emergency Care, Stephanie quickly received the reassurance she sought.

Immediate reassurance

 “It was a Saturday night, and it seemed like Matthew was their only focus. A nurse immediately kept me informed while Matthew underwent head-to-toe imaging. She forewarned me they would need to page the pediatric trauma alert overhead. She knew that would be upsetting for me to hear.”

Matthew, a third-grader who had just tried out for basketball, had a hairline fracture in his left leg and an open compound fracture of the tibia and fibula on his right leg. The right tibia had snapped and broken through the skin, making it susceptible to infection. He would be sidelined from sports for many months.

The orthopedic surgeon on call was Richard Naylor, DO, of MercyOne Waterloo Orthopedics Care.  “Dr. Naylor was amazing. He looked at the scans and knew right away Matthew would need a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and to be transferred to MercyOne Children’s Hospital in Des Moines,” Stephanie said. “He knew Matthew wasn’t going to have surgery until the next morning in Des Moines, so he needed to clean out the leg and get the bone aligned to prevent infection.”

Special touches

On a difficult night, all the special touches meant a lot to Matthew’s family.

The team included Matthew in all conversations about his care. Dr. Naylor gave an emotional Stephanie his cellphone number, in case she had any questions after Matthew’s transfer to Des Moines.  An emergency department nurse who knew Matthew’s dad had played football for Iowa State University ensured Matthew had an Iowa State scrub cap before he went into the O.R.

After his surgery, Matthew was transported by ambulance from Waterloo to MercyOne Children’s Hospital in Des Moines for his second surgery 12 hours after the accident.

“We had an entirely different care team, and they were absolutely phenomenal,” Stephanie said. “Working in health care, I look at health care through a more critical lens. And so, to receive the excellent care that he did was huge.”

New care team, same great care

His pediatric surgeon was Stephen Carveth, MD, Iowa Ortho, who his young patients call “Dr. Bubba.” Matthew would come to love clinic visits with this doctor, who wears scrubs and cowboy boots and has a great rapport with kids. 

Another special touch at the Children’s Hospital: Challenged by swallowing pills, Matthew wanted chewable Tylenol. Big for his age, he needed a dose of eight pills. When attempts to take the pills with ice cream didn’t work, a nurse crushed up the capsules and mixed them with Sprite. “She named the drink after Matthew, calling it a ‘Matt Attack’ and told him that every time she gives it to her other patients, she would think of him.” 

Stephanie added, “It’s a misnomer that when you get into a larger health system, you lose a little bit of that personal care. I never once felt like that was the case. The transition between the two MercyOne facilities was very smooth, despite two entirely different care teams. The personal care continued throughout.”

A year later and after a long recovery that included physical therapy and another surgery to remove the plates and screws in his right leg, Matthew was happy to play fall soccer and winter basketball once again.

“As someone who works in health care, I hold the health care my family receives to a higher standard,” Stephanie concludes. “That evening in Waterloo, I couldn’t have asked for better staff. The same went for the staff who took care of us during our four-day stay at MercyOne Des Moines.”