Orthopedic care inspires Andrea’s career path

The orthopedic care Dr. Mark Adamczyk provided for Andrea has inspired her to pursue a health care career.

Andrea Garrett started as an Akron Children’s orthopedics patient, born with clubfeet and knock knees. She’s now an employee who credits Dr. Mark Adamczyk, pediatric orthopedic surgeon and Clubfoot Clinic director, with inspiring her to pursue a health care career.

Andrea’s orthopedic care

At 2 months old, she had her first appointment with Dr. Adamczyk. He recommended casting and bracing, called the Ponseti method, for her clubbed feet. Casting gradually moves the foot to the correct position, and bracing keeps the foot in the right spot. “She was among my first patients when I started my orthopedics practice at Akron Children’s Hospital,” he recalled. “She received a series of plaster casts that gradually repositioned her feet.”

After the casting, Andrea wore special boots connected with a horizontal bar for 1 year. “I don’t have recollection of wearing the boots and bar,” she said. “But my family members tell me I hated them.”

During one hospitalization for surgery, Andrea received a visit from a Doggie Brigade therapy dog.

At age 10, Andrea had “distal tibia derotation” surgery. This procedure involves cutting and rotating the shin bone to a better position, holding it in place with pins on each side of her ankle. She also had guided growth correction, which is surgery using a tethering technique to attach a small plate to the bone’s growth plate to guide the bone’s growth and strengthen the leg over time.

In total, Andrea had 3 clubfoot-related surgeries and 2 surgeries on each knee. She feels fine today, other than minor leg pain when the weather changes.

Impressed with Dr. Adamczyk’s teaching

Andrea commends Dr. Adamczyk for his willingness to share his expertise with others. “I remember him teaching medical students and residents every time I had an appointment or surgery,” she said. “I saw him in the back of the operating room (OR) during one of my surgeries, looking at the X-rays and explaining what he saw as well as what would happen during surgery.”

In addition to teaching future orthopedic professionals, Dr. Adamczyk taught Andrea and her family. “I liked how well he explained everything and how informal he was to my family,” she said. “He shifted my interest from wanting to become a baker to doing something in orthopedics.”

Andrea recovered so well from her surgeries that she could play sports.

Andrea’s career path

Andrea – a resident of Atwater, Ohio – recently turned 20 years old. In a full-circle moment, she became an Akron Children’s employee earlier this year. She’s a medical assistant in Outpatient Surgery, doing everything from taking patients’ vital signs and helping with discharge to providing comfort in the form of blankets and ice pops.

Her years as an Akron Children’s orthopedics patient – from 2 months to sixth grade – help her empathize with what patient families go through. “I’ve been in their shoes before,” she said. “I know how scary it feels to get wheeled to the OR and waking up with something that makes your foot immobile.”

Andrea will attend Stark State University starting in the summer of 2026, working toward an associate degree in nursing. She’ll then pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing. After that, her plan is to continue gaining work experience and then pursue becoming a physician assistant. “My ultimate goal is to become first assistant in orthopedic surgery,” she said. “It would be great to be with patients throughout their clubfoot journeys.”

What progress Andrea has made, from her tiny footprints on her birth certificate to wanting to help kids with clubfoot.

Although Andrea is no longer under Dr. Adamczyk’s care, his influence on her life remains. “I just want to give a big thank you to him,” she said. “He’s the person who inspired me to go into health care. And he’s the reason why I’m independent and stubborn, in a good way.”

Dr. Adamczyk praises Andrea for pursuing a health care career. “She is a wonderful person with a stick-to-it attitude,” he shared. “She can accomplish anything she sets her mind to.”