Broken kneecap proves no obstacle on way to huppa

Bridegroom hobbles down the aisle 24 hours after fracturing kne in motorcycle accident.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
knee joint 88 (photo credit: )
knee joint 88
(photo credit: )
Kaplan Hospital medical personnel got a bridegroom to the huppa on time last week - albeit on crutches - 24 hours after he fractured his kneecap in a road accident. Ilan Korotkin, 28, was riding a motorcycle that was hit by a vehicle whose driver didn't stop at a red light. Magen David Adom medics took him to the Rehovot hospital with a broken right kneecap. When he entered the emergency room and told the staff he was due to get married on Tuesday, the next day, they did everything they could to speed up his treatment. Dr. Shaul Sagiv, head of the spinal and trauma unit, said he and colleagues were sure they could get him through surgery and even be able to traditionally break the glass with his right foot. "His family were very anxious, but we explained to them that it was a relatively simple operation that takes an hour," Sagiv said. Recovery usually takes three days, but because of the impending wedding, hospital physiotherapists put him through the paces to learn to walk on crutches, go up stairs and of course prepare for breaking the glass. "We did dozens of simulations, even though he was suffering from excruciating pain," said physiotherapist Aliza Mintz. She said she has been in her job for 30 years, but never thought she would be able to send a young man on crutches to get married within hours of knee surgery. "When I was told by the department that I had to prepare a bridegroom for the huppa, I said that was the job of the rabbinate, not of a physiotherapist," she said afterward. "I had 20 minutes to learn how to use crutches," the bridegroom added. Four hundred guests in the wedding hall held their breath as he raised his leg and gently brought it down on the glass until it shattered. "The noise brought great happiness," said Korotkin, "and it was all thanks to the amazing help of the medical and nursing teams in Kaplan's orthopedics department."