>> These are my little Hopkins family.
(bouncy music)
This is Barney, Doctor Tis's assistant.
This is Doctor Tis.
This is Karen, his physician assistant, and this is Lucy.
Just the extra sibling, has a collar.
Part of my autism is having anxiety.
And one thing that helps my anxiety
is having stuffed animals that trouble everywhere.
So this stuffed animal has been to every physical therapy,
every appointment, and then in fear of August 1st.
of my second surgery, I told Doctor Tis
I have a stuffed animal,
and he said that I can leave it in surgery.
(piano music)
There, I am fine now.
There.
(piano music)
Okay, there's my friend.
(man laughs)
>> John: You better believe it.
>> What, I put them there now.
>> Madelyn is a real special kid.
And she came in initially,
because she had dislocated
one of her kneecaps
a couple of times.
>> It was like they were disjointed and you literally could
move her kneecap from side to side with your finger.
So what would happen is this kneecap would look like it was
over here and she has nothing holding her structurally down.
So she falls.
>> And then once it goes back in,
like pulls the muscle behind my leg
and starts hurting more
and it gets intense.
>> Madelyn, like a lot of patients
was not ready to undergo surgery right away.
The idea really made her nervous.
So we were trying to do as much
non-operative treatment as possible.
>> Oh, Doctor Tis you have to meet someone else.
>> John: Is that Barney?
>> No, that's Lucy Tis, there.
>> I feel like a lot of doctors might've been like,
"Okay, she needs surgery.
"Let's do surgery."
That's their whole, you know, thing.
We knew she needed surgery.
All of us knew she needed surgery.
But he was kind enough and compassionate enough to see
Madelyn as who she was.
That she would not be able to handle that.
So we waited and waited and waited until like,
we couldn't wait anymore.
So that's the difference.
I feel like we got with Doctor Tis.
>> So we did one leg first,
and then when they're ready and they've strengthened up,
then we do the other side.
So I did a combined arthroscopic open surgery
to realign her bones
and then tighten up the tissue arthroscopically.
>> John: It used to be like that.
And then, so I cut it, pivoted it over
>> Woman: Oh, yeah.
>> John: And then secured it with the two screws.
So now the ligament's attach there.
So the patella is now being pulled this way.
The surgery itself only takes about two hours
and then they go home that day
and we usually start to have them do physical therapy
soon as possible afterwards within three days.
And what I like to see is
to have them get their full motion
back by six weeks.
>> So for physical therapy,
we had her surgery on Thursday.
Tuesday of the next week
we were already back in physical therapy.
So she started from just four days out.
Went back to PT a few days after surgery
and we do two days a week.
The thing that they do differently there is
they have the, what is it called?
>> I was going to talk about it.
>> You talk about, the treadmill.
>> Oh yeah.
The anti-gravity treadmill?
>> Yeah. >> Oh, yeah
So the anti-gravity treadmill is like,
it takes all the high impact off your legs.
And it's like walking on the moon.
So last Monday I got to run on it for the first time.
And then I also get to do like ladders and scooter
and play games at PT, which I really like.
One of the things I've been leaning for 18 years of my life
that I have been able to do was
like running and being like a normal kid.
>> So that was her one question.
When he asked her if she was ready for surgery
after he gave her the gory details.
Her one question was...
>> Don't say it 'cause now you'll make me cry, mom.
just stop.
>> Her one and only question was, "Will I be able to run
"and jump like a normal kid?"
>> Now we're running at like month two and a half, so.
>> They really looked at her as the whole child
and treated her,
not just her legs or her knees or her surgery,
but her autism, her anxiety.
And they put everything into place
to try and make it as easy as they could
for us and her successfully.
And I think it speaks to that
she was willing to go right back
and get it again because of Hopkins and their staff.
All of their staff, their nurses, the doctors, everyone.
(upbeat music)