Cindy’s hamstring repair patient story.

Something felt wrong

Until one day last summer when she felt something very wrong as she was centering her ski in the water and preparing to pull herself to a standing position behind the boat.

“I felt a snap in the back of my leg and just a weird feeling throughout my body,” she says. “I wasn’t in a lot of pain but was shaking all over. I knew something bad had happened.”

Right away, after her family helped her out of the water, she reached out to a physician assistant friend at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush and asked for the best doctor at the top-ranked practice. Immediately, she learned about Dr. Shane Nho, a sports medicine surgeon with an expertise in hamstring injuries.

Getting care the same day

“I couldn’t believe it, but by 2 pm that same day, I was in Dr. Nho’s clinic in Chicago,” she explains. “And it was a good thing because by that time, I couldn’t move my leg and just really wanted to be able to walk again.”

After a careful exam and reviewing imaging, Dr. Nho confirmed that Milojevic had sustained a complete tear of all three tendons in her hamstring. One of the tendons had already retracted. Together, Milojevic and Dr. Nho agreed that surgery was the best option to get her back to fully enjoying her favorite activities, most likely including waterskiing.

“Cindy was very motivated to returned to her active lifestyle,” says Dr. Nho. “A torn hamstring makes it difficult to return to sports that require strength and agility, so the recommendation to surgically repair her hamstring was a no-brainer.’”

Milojevic underwent a very successful outpatient surgery at the Rush Oak Brook Outpatient Center meaning that she went home the same day of surgery. She followed Dr. Nho’s recovery guidelines to the letter and gradually performed physical therapy near her home at the Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush Oak Park physical therapy clinic.

An amazing experience

“Everyone, including Dr. Nho, his team, and the physical therapists, were compassionate and professional,” she says. “The whole experience was amazing.”
Just six months post-surgery, Milojevic and her husband traveled to New Zealand where she happily completed a seven-hour, 12-mile hike in one day. This fall, she is planning another intense hiking trip to the Swiss Alps with a friend. She is also back to yoga and pickleball but admits that she may refrain from waterskiing this summer. “I think for now I will just enjoy teaching the kids how to ski and drive the boat,” she laughs. “Maybe one day.”