Mark Molzahn and Dr. Andreas Sauerbrey

Last summer, after mowing his large, sloped lawn with a push mower, Mark Molzahn experienced shoulder pain. Not just a little twinge, either. His left shoulder hurt so much that he couldn’t sleep for several days.

Then, a few months later, he used
a snowblower to clear an early snowfall from his driveway. There
it was again—that terrible shoulder pain. His shoulder had been bothering him on and off for quite some time, but now the problem was debilitating.

So in December he went to see board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon Dr. Andreas Sauerbrey, a shoulder, elbow and hand specialist with Steamboat Orthopaedic & Spine Institute. SOSI has an office in Craig, and many SOSI surgeons routinely perform joint replacement at The Memorial Hospital at Craig. Over the years Dr. Sauerbrey had repaired Molzahn’s carpal tunnel in both wrists and torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.

“I’ve known Dr. Sauerbrey for a long time, and I trust he knows what needs to be done,” Molzahn said.
“He ordered an MRI and said yep, I had a worn-out shoulder. He also said shoulder replacement would fix my problem.”

Joint Replacement at MRH

Dr. Sauerbrey performed Molzahn’s shoulder replacement surgery on January 24. “I showed up at the hospital, someone took me back, and the next thing you know I was waking up,” he said. “Easy, breezy.”
Sometimes joint-replacement patients are discharged later on the day of surgery. But because Molzahn had recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea and hadn’t yet received his CPAP machine, and because he needed to work with the hospital respiratory therapists to improve his breathing post-anesthesia, Dr. Sauerbrey asked him to stay overnight.

A friend picked him up the next morning, and Molzahn was on his way. Since then he’s been doing his physical therapy and has returned to the Memorial Regional Health Clinic twice for postoperative checks with the orthopedic physician assistants. He’s driving, doing laundry and grocery shopping. He sees Dr. Sauerbrey in a couple of weeks and is hoping he’ll be cleared to return to his job then.

CLOSE TO HOME

Molzahn, age 62, has been a heavy-equipment operator at Craig Station for 17 years. Before that, he was a welder for 26 years. That job involved swinging a sledgehammer and running heavy tools like a grinder and air-impact tools. He said he’s enjoyed his recuperation time at home, but he’s been getting anxious to get back to work.

“They told me after three to six months, I’d be ready
to return to doing all my activities,” Molzahn said. He’s looking forward to camping this summer. He likes taking his pull camper to the White River Valley and exploring the area around Grand Mesa.

His Black Russian Terrier, Pepper, goes wherever he goes. Watch for them when you’re out and about. They’ll be back to living life to the fullest, thanks to excellent orthopedic care close to home.