Chale Lewis

I cannot thank Dr. Foad enough for what he did for me as a young man and as an athlete.

When I initially injured my shoulder, I was a sophomore starting on the varsity football team on both offense and defense, having a great season.  I did PT and felt strong enough to continue with wrestling season.  However, the second injury following the initial caused the biggest amount of harm and the only solution was surgery with Dr. Foad.  It was a devastating injury as a young, multi-sport athlete.  My social circle was sports oriented, my activity levels revolved around sports, and I felt a huge sense of loss about what I was going to do in my high school years if I couldn’t play sports.

Surgery was intense and I ended up with eight bone anchors in my right shoulder, my dominant shoulder.  One of the most impactful conversations Dr. Foad had with me actually occurred prior to surgery when he asked me to prioritize my sports as he explained that my shoulder would no longer be God given, it was now going to be man-made.  I let that conversation sink in and explained that wrestling was my passion and he asked me what my goal was.  Hearing such a question from my surgeon showed me just how much Dr. Foad really gets it, and shows how much he really cares.  My goal wasn’t just to fix my shoulder and live without pain, it was to return to the mat better than I was before, and he wanted to help me achieve my goal.

Dr. Foad was an athlete in school himself, maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle and the relationship that he builds with his patients shows a lot of understanding and empathy of what we are experiencing and feeling after suffering an injury and building ourselves back.  This sets him apart from all the others.

When I started my PT, first thing they said was that patients who are under the care plan of Dr. Foad heal much quicker with a slower chance of re-injury than other patients, because of his detailed, thorough therapy plans.  Every follow up appointment was with Dr. Foad himself, not another member of his team and this was another way he showed how much he cared and how he was working with me towards achieving my goal.

I finished my junior year wrestling season with a record of 31-12 and earned a 2nd place finish in the MAC Conference Championship. I’m continuing that journey and working towards big things my senior year.  I’m very grateful to Dr. Foad for giving me what I needed to help me achieve my goal and highly recommend him to other patients and athletes who want to have the same experience.