After Serious Ankle Injury, Italia’s Back to Running, Cheering and Dance

Italia Rozina, 13, was an active seventh grader, an accomplished dancer and a cross-country runner. But her activities ended abruptly when she fell down the steps at school and broke her ankle.

Her injury was so serious she would miss 26 days of classes and spend three months in a wheelchair.

“I didn’t think I would ever be able to do my sports and activities the way I did before,” she says. “But now, I’m back to them and I’m even stronger than ever.”

For that remarkable comeback, Italia and her family thank orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon Shawn Bifano, MD, and his team at Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute, Dickson City.

The fall broke Italia’s tibia bone in three places, including through the growth plate. A visit to the urgent care and a CT scan revealed that she would need surgery.

A few days later, Dr. Bifano and his surgical team repaired the damage, realigned the bones and used several screws to hold everything in place during a two-hour operation.

For the bones to heal properly, Italia would have to stay off her ankle completely for three full months. Then, she would need more than three months of physical therapy to regain her strength.

Italia and her mom, Jessica, were worried about what the injury might do to her lifestyle and her physical activities. “She had been taking dance lessons since she was 3,” her mom says, “and she was very strong in jazz, tap, ballet and lyrical dance.” Italia also ran cross country.

By the time she went back to school at North Pocono Middle School in September of her eighth grade year, however, Italia was “ready to go right back at it,” her mom says.

She returned to cross-country running, and also ran the 800 meters and other distance events in track that year. Italia also tried out for and made the varsity cheering squad for football. “That,” her mom says, “is quite a feat for an eighth grader in our school district.”

Now, about two and a half years after her injury and surgery, the 15-year-old is fully recovered and back into her full slate of activity. She recently had her best dance recital ever, she says, and also took a gold medal – her first – in a community 5K race in Scranton.

Her ankle still bothers her just a bit in cold or rainy weather, but that is to be expected, she says. “It’s because of all the hardware they installed,” she quips.

These days, the Rozina family can’t say enough good things about Dr. Bifano and his team at Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute. “He asked her about her sports and activities, and he was very focused on her goals and helping her achieve them,” says Jessica about Dr. Bifano.

“I have an individualized discussion with each patient about post-operative goals and the time frame for recovery,” says Dr. Bifano. “Whether it is getting back to dance and sports, being able to get back to running and working out, or being able to play with grandkids, my goal is to help the patient achieve their reasonable expectations.”

The family also is very grateful to Leanne Symuleski, Italia’s physical therapist. “One of my first questions is always about a patient’s goals, and then I design their program,” Symuleski says. “Italia put in the work, she was consistent, and she did her work at home too. She listened, and she followed through.”

“Everyone she met said they were going to do everything they could to get her back to her life, and they truly did,” Jessica said. “The whole team, including Dr. Bifano, the nurses and anesthesia people, and even the clerks at the front desk, were wonderful.”

Jessica looks back on those days as a very frightening time. “Italia was scared going into surgery, and I was worried too,” she says. “It’s your child, you know? Who knew what the outcome would be? But I felt safe. I knew she would be OK by the way they treated her.”

“It was extremely stressful,” Jessica says. “But the people at LVHN were great. They gave us a lot of confidence, and they took a lot of stress off of us.”