Testimonial - Kathy Fahrner-Torres

Testimonial – Kathy Fahrner-Torres

Kathy Fahrner-Torres is a retired teacher living in Santa Rosa. About six years ago, Kathy tore a ligament in her knee while line-dancing. Her primary care doctor referred her to Dr. Mark Schakel at the Santa Rosa Orthopaedic group. Dr. Schakel successfully repaired the damage to Kathy’s knee, and ever since then, Kathy has remained one of Dr. Schakel’s faithful patients.

Every time I meet with Dr. Schakel, he’s always very attentive to my questions and concerns, and he takes the time to carefully explain my injury and the plan for my recovery. I’ve had many injuries over the years, and I feel extremely fortunate to have Dr. Schakel as my long-time surgeon. I had so much pain in my heel and foot that I thought I’d never walk again. Thanks to Dr. Schakel, I can once again enjoy hiking and cycling pain-free. I also appreciate Dr. Schakel’s assistant Pam and SRO’s physical therapist Tom. It’s nice to be active again, and I owe my thanks to Dr. Schakel and the team at Santa Rosa Orthopaedics.

In addition to Kathy’s knee surgery, Dr. Schakel has also operated on Kathy’s Achilles tendon. Dr. Schakel has shown Kathy Fahrner-Torres what thousands of other patients have discovered over the years: Santa Rosa Orthopaedic physicians care and pride themselves on getting you back to the activities you love.

Testimonial - Mimosa Harris

Testimonial – Mimosa Harris

Mimosa “Mimi” Harris is a 35-year-old resident of Santa Rosa who enjoys walking and running to stay healthy. Early in 2014, Mimosa went to see a doctor about a sharpening pain in her right foot. The doctor determined that Mimosa had developed a bunion, a common abnormal bone growth that can be caused by genetic factors and from wearing tight shoes overtime. The pain in her foot worsened until Mimosa could no longer wear a shoe without feeling unbearable discomfort.

When her doctor recommended surgery to correct the bunion, Mimosa was shocked that something like this could happen to her at such a young age. She feared that the pain in her foot would never fully subside after surgery, or that the surgery would leave her with noticeable scarring. She read some frightening stories online from people who had had various types of foot surgery, fueling her anxiety even further. Confronting her fears head on, Mimosa began conducting research on foot surgeons in the area. She chose Dr. Mark Schakel at Santa Rosa Orthopaedics to perform the surgery, and she couldn’t have hoped for better results.

Just reading about Dr. Schakel’s stellar reputation online went a long way to quieting my fears about foot surgery. I had two appointments with him before the surgery, and his office staff was very accommodating, ensuring my appointments would fit my schedule. Dr. Schakel was warm and caring, listening to my questions and providing well-communicated, detailed answers. I got to choose when to have the surgery, and I picked the holidays so I would have ample time to recover.

With Dr. Schakel as my surgeon, foot surgery didn’t feel like that big of a deal. The surgery went flawlessly. I can comfortably wear shoes and take long walks. I experienced hardly any pain immediately after my surgery and during my recovery, and not even my doctor can believe how small my scar is! I keep telling people that Dr. Schakel could be a plastic surgeon.

Dr. Schakel has shown Mimosa Harris what thousands of other patients have discovered over the years: Santa Rosa Orthopaedics physicians care and pride themselves on getting you back to the activities you love.