Robert Kollmorgen, DO, FAAOS, FAOBOS, an Inspire Health orthopaedic surgeon, has helped his patient, Amara, regain her confidence on the softball field and is inspiring her to join the medical field.
At such a young age, when all you’ve known is your sport, it’s devastating to hear that you may not be able to return to the field again. Â
“I guess you could say I kind of went through an identity crisis because I didn’t know who I was without softball,” said Amara Klein. Â
For almost a decade, Amara went through many ups and downs when it came to her hips.Â
It all started in middle school when Amara was at softball practice and felt what she thought was her left hip popping out of place. She knew something wasn’t right, but she continued on with her practice, thinking that the pain would subside. Her pain intensified—a troubling sign for someone who prided herself on a high pain tolerance, a clear sign something was wrong.
Practice ended early for her that day since she was rushed to the emergency room. Once there, she was told that everything looked normal despite her immense pain. She was sent home with the suggestion to visit her doctor to undergo more testing to determine what could have caused this issue. From there, Amara would undergo exploratory surgery and a series of tests over the next year.Â
With no resolution for her pain, a family friend recommended Amara to go see Robert Kollmorgen, DO, FAAOS, FAOBOS, at Inspire Health Medical Group – Orthopaedics.
After a year with no answers, it was Dr. Kollmorgen who ultimately solved Amara’s case.
Dr. Kollmorgen is board certified in orthopedic surgery and fellowship trained in hip preservation. He is dedicated to providing compassionate and effective care and believes excellent health begins with education and prevention. Dr. Kollmorgen has made it his mission to enlighten patients on ways they can take greater control over their own health.
Despite hesitation from Amara and her family, at her very first appointment with Dr. Kollmorgen, Amara immediately felt seen and heard. Dr. Kollmorgen discovered that she had hip dysplasia. Hip dysplasia occurs when your hip socket doesn’t fully form around the ball portion of the thighbone. This can cause the hip joint to partially or completely dislocate from the socket. If left untreated, complications such as hip labral tear and osteoarthritis can arise.
From there, Dr. Kollmorgen decided the best course of action was for her to undergo a periacetabular osteotomy—a hip preservation surgery, typically used to treat patients with hip dysplasia, which reorients and repositions the acetabulum, the socket of the hip bone.
Amara was warned that there was a chance that she may never set foot back on the softball field again if she went through this surgery. Hearing that made her rethink going through with it.
“At 14 years old, when that’s your biggest dream, it’s like a punch in the gut,” Amara explained. “I remember going home from that appointment and telling my parents ‘I’m not doing this surgery, I don’t care what you guys say, I want to play.'”
Her parents and Dr. Kollmorgen expressed their concerns about Amara not being able to walk correctly and without pain if she didn’t go through this surgery. She knew that having the surgery was imperative for her long-term health.
In the spring of 2020, she had the surgery and was on the path to recovery. Even in her healing process, she would push the limits quite often, eager to return to her sport. Eventually, she made a full recovery and was back on the field feeling better than ever.
During her junior year of high school, Amara started feeling discomfort in her right hip, and she knew who she had to visit again.
They found that her right hip was just as bad as the left hip that Dr. Kollmorgen operated on in 2020, though the discomfort didn’t surface until the summer of 2022.
Amara explained to Dr. Kollmorgen, “Listen, my senior year is coming up, I just want to play for my senior year. This team is so special, and we have a really good shot at winning a valley championship. They need me.”
Through her determination to play softball in her senior year, she opted to receive a cortisone shot that alleviated her pain temporarily. Once the softball season ended, she returned to Dr. Kollmorgen to get another surgery on her right hip.
This time around, she was able to walk two weeks earlier than her first surgery. Dr. Kollmorgen jokingly asked Amara if she was a “superhuman” because this wasn’t something he usually saw as a surgeon.
Shortly after recovering from the second surgery, she started physical therapy to regain her strength. A couple of months later, Amara was able to run again and after her one-year appointment with Dr. Kollmorgen, she shared how she hit a home run in one of her softball scrimmages, which affirmed the success of her surgeries.
Amara’s experience has inspired her to pursue a major in nursing. “From my experiences with [my surgeries] and everything, I want to help people, and I want to be in the medical field,” she said.
After her successful surgeries, Amara plans to continue playing softball when she goes to college. She will start her higher education at a local community college and then transfer to a four-year university. She has not committed to a college just yet, but once she does, Dr. Kollmorgen personally requested spirit wear in commemoration of this journey they took together.