COVID-19: Nurse Returns to the Frontline a Few Days After Surgery

New Orleans emergency nurse practitioner, Carolyn Storck, went back to the frontlines to fight COVID-19, days after her leg surgery. 

In March, Storck told People, because of her severe case of Achilles tendonitis and a Haglund's deformity, she had to undergo surgery. In less than two weeks, she returned to her work as a nurse, as she managed her weight off the injured leg using a hands-free crutch. 

Storck felt obligated to help her colleagues because her mindset is to step up and do what she needs to be done especially now that there is COVID-19.

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Carolyn Storck returned to her work as a nurse few days after her leg surgery.

Storck had Achilles tendon pain for three years

On March 6, she had been dealing with her Achilles tendon pain for three years already. She had to stop running because it hurts. After consulting many doctors and doing every trick she can, she decided to get the surgery. 

The nurse had no other choice because doctors told her that the Haglund's deformity is also getting worse. Haglund's deformity is an enlargement on the back of the heel and is painful. Per her doctor's recommendation, Storck had to rest for at least four weeks. According to the Stone Clinic, patients usually take up to eight weeks to heal from the surgery. 

Storck did not even make it half of the time for healing. She felt she had to be back to work because they had a lot of COVID-19 patients, hospitalizations, and people on ventilators. Twelve days after her surgery, Storck was back to do her nurse duties. She worked at the emergency departments of New Orleans VA Medical Center and the Ochsner Medical Center. 

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iWALK 2.0 helped her move freely

To keep all her weight off her injured leg, Storck relied on iWALK 2.0. It functions as a temporary lower leg, which allows her to move freely around the hospital and in the COVID-19 tent testing areas. 

The President of iWALKFree, Inc., Brad Hunter, complimented Storck, saying that she is "a true hero" because she is determined to work frontline to fight COVID-19. Storck was moved and felt embarrassed, and she credits her bond with her colleagues for inspiring her to get back to work immediately.

Storck said that they are all just doing their jobs as a medical nurse practitioner. As a nurse, she felt nice to be acknowledged, but she knows that it is something that she has to do. She said that people would take care of their colleagues like the way they take care of their patients. 

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Three months after her surgery, Storck got "both legs back." She could also walk around in her sneakers even though she is still feeling a "little bit of pain." She is glad that she did the surgery. 

Storck could not wait for the day to come when she could run again. She said that she sees herself as a runner even though she has not done it in three years. Her specialist will soon do her other leg, so she hopes that it would cure so she could get back to running again.