[MUSIC]
So here's the section of my first rib that Dr. Lum removed.
The most likely cause of me getting thoracic outlet syndrome
was my persistent workouts kind of over exhausting my arm.
And consistently hanging above my head.
When they told me I couldn't play football,
I was really upset.
It was like my senior years, my last year and
with the goal of winning a championship.
I felt like I was letting my team down.
I woke up one morning and
there's a pain in my upper armpit.
And then it persisted for a couple days and then
my arm started turning purple and was a little bit cold.
So I definitely knew that something was wrong.
>> So Mark came to me and said, mom I'm feeling a little bit
of pain and I looked at him and I know that Mark is
not the kind of child that complains about anything.
And he said, I'd really like you to make an appointment for
me to see the doctor.
>> Things moved very fast.
From going in to see a doctor 3:34 to 6 o'clock.
Things moved extremely fast and
we didn't really know kinda what was gonna happen.
All we knew was it was a one foot blood clot from his elbow
in his subclavian vein up to his shoulder.
>> Mark Olvesh had the venous type of thoracic elbow syndrome.
And that happens when the subclavian vein is compressed in
the thoracic elbow right underneath the collar bone and
above the first rib.
>> I had thrombolysis,
which is basically where they go into the vein and
inflate a balloon, and then try to pull out the blood clot.
My first one didn't really work, and my blood clot came back
within the next couple of hours after that,
then they decided that I needed to get my rib removed.
That's when they fully made the decision to do the liver
precision.
>> We were actually told to do research and
find the best doctor for this surgery.
We connected with Lum he was responsive.
And there was no doubt in our mind that he was the best doctor
for this surgery based on his experience, his responsiveness,
the hospital.
Once we made the decision we were sure it was
the right thing.
>> I was very driven around the objective of getting the very
best person even if it did mean the traveling and
the traveling was really unimportant relatively
to finding the best person.
[SOUND] >> Hey, Mark.
>> Mark Norwich underwent a rib resection procedure through
the armpits.
Mark went home the very next day and he was started on physical
therapy about two weeks after surgery.
I went to physical therapy for about six months.
At first I just got focused on getting back mobility.
So we had to really work on strengthening the muscles that
around the muscles that had been removed.
So that I could get back into football get back into
working out.
>> Because Mark was a very competitive athlete,
he was very eager to get back into exercising and rehab.
So I allowed Mark to do some light exercises on the bike, and
some light jogging and running pretty quickly after surgery.
But Mark also had to stick to the vigorous physical therapy
protocol for a good eight to ten weeks after surgery.
>> We're constantly emailing Lum.
We have a pretty open line of communication about how
things were going if we had any questions, cuz it is kinda you
are kinda questioning if everything is going right cuz
you've never gone through something like this before.
So if there's a weird pain going on, a tingling, I'd email them
and be like is this normal, is this okay and he would always
be like yes you're fine, keep recovering, keep doing well.
>> And he was always available, and he always came back, and
answered all questions, and it's continued that way.
But he's enormously responsive and been enormously helpful,
that we know there's somebody at the other end, so
if there's ever a question that means an enormous amount to us.
>> Mrs. Norwich, everything looks great.
The ultrasound looks pretty good.
>> The benefit or the reaction from the surgery was,
since he couldn't play his senior year.
And he was so upset about not being a part of the team, and
letting the team down was really important to him that he got
a commitment from us and made his own personal commitment
that, I will be playing football in college the following year.
>> I like to keep in close communication with my patients,
and the Norwich family have been very gracious in updating me
with Mark's progress,
I'm very glad to hear that his progress has been remarkable and
he has been recruited to play college football.
[MUSIC]
>> My dream came true.
I'm happy to say that
my arm is stronger than it was before surgery.
Everyone that I had encountered at Johns Hopkins really helped
me and made me feel more comfortable about being be able
to accomplish my goals and come out healthier and
better than I was going in.
[MUSIC]