11/06/2025
A small step changed Carroll Ward’s life in an instant. While moving a chair, he stepped wrong on a stair, tried to prevent his fall and tore the quadriceps tendon in both his legs. It’s a serious injury that almost always requires surgery and a lengthy recovery.
“I guess they were both ready to go, and they wanted to get it over with at once,” Ward said with a big laugh.
After initial imaging and a referral, within two weeks, Ward was meeting with Dr. Joseph Byrne at Mercy Orthopedics and Sports Medicine – 206 Hospital Lane in Perryville. Ward was placed in leg braces and surgery was scheduled, but he wasn’t nervous.
“They were always positive and confident, and that made me confident,” Ward said. “The only thing I was concerned about was, ‘Will the good Lord see me through this?’”
While recovering from surgery at Mercy Hospital Perry, Ward expressed how grateful he was for every caregiver he came in contact with — nurses, hospitalists, greeters, even the hospital administrator who stopped by for visits on multiple occasions. He said at one point, he could hear Mercy caregivers having a celebration for another caregiver, and they thought to bring him and his wife a plate of food so they could join the celebration as well.
“It’s one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in a hospital. Period.”
When Ward went home to recover, he knew he had a long road ahead of him. Dr. Byrne and Robb Brodie, physician assistant, had prepared Ward for at least four to six months of recovery with braces on his legs 24 hours a day. Ward said his legs got better little by little after each appointment, but about five months into his recovery, he woke up and he could tell his legs were just better.
“They didn’t hurt as much, and they didn’t get as tired as quickly,” Ward said. “There was a big difference right there, but it was right on schedule from what my doctor had told me. I wasn’t surprised.”
Since then, Ward has been able to go back to the thing he loves most and his motivation to get better — being outside on his tractor on his seven-acre property.
“My accident left me unable to walk, and Dr. Byrne brought me from the wheelchair to the walker to the walking stick to my present ability of walking without any assistance. I have most of my original mobility, and I’m still gaining each day. And I can mow my own lawn including the trimming. I’m back on my feet doing what I should be doing.”
Ward offered advice for anyone facing a similar seemingly devastating injury: “I’d pull my phone out and give them Dr. Byrne’s and Robb’s phone number.
“I’ve told everyone about Perryville since I’ve come back home. There is no comparison, and this hospital far exceeds my expectations. I couldn’t have asked for any better care. I didn’t have any complaints, and that’s unusual,” he said with another big laugh.
To make an appointment with Dr. Byrne or Robb Brodie, or learn more about Mercy Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Perryville, call 573-768-3396 or visit www.mercy.net/practice/mercy-orthopedics-and-sports-medicine-206-hospital-lane
