Albemarle Veterinary Health Care Center / Letters of Appreciation

Letters of Appreciation


	Why did I drive over 800 miles from Chicago to Charlottesville? I brought my dog Lucy to Albemarle Veterinary Healthcare Center to be treated by Dr. Freedman! Lucy was diagnosed with cruciate ligament disease which we call a torn ACL in humans. I was directed to an orthopedic specialist in Chicago whose facility I would politely call, a factory. In the waiting room I witnessed a parade of dogs limping through the sliding glass doors. Their owners, after seeing the Dr. would utter, " they said two more weeks" to their fellow comrades in waiting. Alas, it was our turn, and the sentence we received was not surprising; Lucy would need a surgery called TPLO. I searched the internet for information and learned the surgery would require breaking the leg. After surgery, we would be faced with an awful recovery. How do you keep an athletic dog crated or confined for 6 weeks with nothing but potty breaks? One double click later and I found hope. There is a different, and less invasive procedure called TTA. It is the gold standard in Europe, but has only been performed in the US since 2003. The Veterinary school at Virginia Tech is doing a study comparing TPLO vs. TTA, and I e-mailed for more information. They forwarded the e-mail to Dr. Freedman and the rest is history. Dr. Freedman contacted me and answered every question with patience and earnest. As a proponent of TTA, he has learned as much as possible about the procedure since it came to the US. From our conversations, I sensed a genuine passion and confidence about TTA as an alternative to the TPLO. When I arrived in Charlottesville, Dr. Freedman examine Lucy's other hind leg and to my dismay, she needed the surgery on both knees. The specialist in Chicago didn't even bother to check both legs! Lucy has not been deterred. She is 2 weeks out of surgery and showing great progress. She has been walking on both of her operated legs since two days after surgery. My experience with Dr. Freedman and the entire staff has been overwhelmingly positive. During the process, Dr. Freedman said I would be able to call upon him for 6 months after surgery. I thought to myself, what a value! He has been true to his word, as we communicate on an almost daily basis. His devotion is undeniable. I felt like Lucy was at the Mayo Clinic for dogs! Why not go the extra mile (or 800) for our pets ? After all, they are family too! As clients of Albemarle Veterinary Health Care Center, you are in great hands. To Dr. Freedman and the staff, I wish I could twitch my nose from side to side like Samantha in Bewitched and have you all transplanted to Chicago. Thank you again for your kindness, friendship and expertise. Best Wishes Kris rucinski and Lucy (grrrrrrrrrrr)
	Kris rucinski
	Chicago, Illinois

Judy traveled from Thailand into the states two years ago. ananda and I were very fortunate to receive her as a gift in our family. I remember looking into a woven bamboo basket, an muzzled inside were these two big black eyeballs and a brown peanut shaped body. When the three of us elevated in life, the explanation of teaching a dog how to do tricks was a mistaken concept. Love, is an understatement. At times I found myself trapped in Judy's irresistible commanding spirit, adorable comfort, and her strong vibrant will.

Tragic accidents in all circumstances play dramatically in this humanistic world. Some of the responses I have gotten, before visiting Dr. Freedman's office, where unsentimental and insincere about Judy's frolic accident from repetitiously jumping off the bed. Emotionally upset, and after four days of false hope, my wife zipped through the yellow pages finding direct information advertised in the phone book about Dr. Freedman specializing in joint therapy. After all, Judy was paralyzed. Immediately my wife phoned in and conversed about the incident, which happened with Judy, with the receptionist. An appointment was then scheduled for the following day. Not even an hour later Dr. Freedman called her back with deep concern about Judy's condition and asked us to come in as soon as possible.

The information and educated advice that we received gave us new hope. Judy went through numerous types of rehabilitation and acupuncture and can now walk again. I can't resemble the thanks in a literal sense. The three months of Dr. Freedman's therapeutic analogy, the warm support of the staff, made it an incredible experience. Not only for us, but for the one we lovejudy.

Many thanks,

Ernie, ananda & Judy

Not long after we adopted Riley from an animal shelter in North Carolina, it became obvious that she had a terrible knee problem. At first, she would hop on her left hind leg about every fifth step. But we walk a lot, and the more we walked with her, the worse her hop became. Within 3 weeks she was hopping every other step, and limped around the house. Worse, you could see her knee swivel out at a 90% angle every step she took with that leg. I brought her in for a consultation with Dr. Freedman, and he said her knee desperately needed surgical correction. We were faced with a decision of what to do for our brand new pug, and had a Rescue group encourage us to take her somewhere in North Carolina to a specialist for surgery. I am very glad we decided to keep her home and have Dr. Freedman do her surgery. He is a specialist, right here in Charlottesville.

Dr. Freedman said he had to cut her ligaments and muscles and reposition everything, as well as make a groove for her kneecap. After the surgery, they started rehabilitation almost immediately. We are so grateful for all the tender loving care Riley received from Dr. Freedman and his technicians. AVHCC became like family to us, as Riley spent her days there for rehab until she was ready for us to take over at home. She was happy to go each morning and see her friends there. The rehab exercises Dr. Freedman gave us to do were easy and quick. As she progresses, her exercises do too. Riley's favorite is "cookies to hip".

It's only been two months since her surgery and she is getting along great. She walks squarely now, her knee does not swivel out anymore and she is not even limping anymore. Before her surgery she didn't like to walk because she could hop easier if she was running. Now she gladly walks. She is a great dog and we are so happy to have her and know that she has many years to go on her reconstructed knee. We are also happy to know she has a doctor with an expertise in joint rehabilitation who is always looking for ways to improve her quality of life.

Mary & Dana segalla

To: Richard Freedman Date: 12/13/05

From: Stan Johnson

Subject: Colt - PST Treatments

A short note to let you know that Colt's right front leg is doing extremely well since the series of treatments on the PST unit. As you may recall, the radiographs indicated serious problems with the "elbow" on the front leg.

The limping (and holding the leg up) for a period of six to eight days, even with several days on deramaxx, totally ceased in less than 10 days after treatment. It was expected that improvement would occur over a much longer period - possibly 2-3 months.

I decided to hold off on this memo for several weeks after Colt had completed all medications. It has now been 2 months (plus) since Colt started his seven sessions on the PST unit (last treatment 10/7).

As of now, the PST treatments have improved Colt's leg to a point where we have not noticed any "favoring" of the leg due to pain.

We will keep you posted on the continued progress (and also anything negative) regarding Colt and the leg. As for now, the PST treatments have shown a definite benefit.