Our Dr. Costa

Sunday is going to be two weeks from my low-side in West Virginia that caused the fracture of my right collarbone. When I got back to New York I went to see our Dr. Costa: his name is Michael R. Hausman, a genius, passionate, practical orthopedic surgeon discovered by Rob Lombardi 16 year ago. He had shuttered his left wrist in a motocross accident and after 12 months and 2 surgeries he could not see yet the light at the end of the tunnel. One day Rob met a friend of his, a body shop owner in Brooklyn that had fallen from a ladder and broke his elbow in so many pieces that he was told that he would have lost the use of his arm. Dr. Houseman somehow found out about this young guy and offered him the application of his super modern methods of reconstruction. He saved the young man arm and business. Rob immediately went to see Dr. Hausman and after 6 weeks he went back to motocross winning his first race.
Over the years Dr. Hausman has fixed at least two wrists, two elbows, my dislocated shoulder and assisted us with many other orthopedic issues.
About my collarbone, after verifying the x-rays he asked me to wear a sling for two weeks and then to see him again to make sure of the proper healing. I didn’t even try to ask him to sign the paperwork necessary to obtain medical leave at work, after the experience with my shoulder surgery performed two years ago. At that time he stitched me up on Friday and sent me back to work on Monday wearing a sort of “scaffold” of metal and fiberglass to keep my arm bent and forward. It was so big that as jacket I use to wear a blanket modified to a poncho. The funny part is that I drive stick shift cars, so I had to manage how to move around the “scaffold” to sneak my left arm in front my body and shift gears while holding the steering wheel with my left knee. After driving in those conditions for almost 2 months I became so proficient that last week I felt “at home” when I went back driving in similar conditions.
And the pain? Well, I do not take pain killers unless it’s unbearable because, as Dr. Hausman once said to me “… Pain is weakness abandoning your body”.

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