Christian H Patient Story: Christian's Story

“...Once we arrived at Monmouth Medical Center, he was immediately brought into the ER without any wait or delay. The nursing staff could not have been more accommodating in dealing with Christian They immediately placed him in a comfortable room and addressed his pain and discomfort, and the physician staff attended to him personally in an extremely prompt and professional manner.”

An ER is not exactly an ideal place to celebrate your 13th birthday, but for Spring Lake Heights youngster Christian Hanlon, that’s exactly where he found himself on January 1.

Still for Christian, who turned 13 on New Year’s Day, there was no better place for him to be. His mother, Carol Hanlon, notes that they returned to New Jersey from a New Year’s ski trip in upstate New York and headed straight to Monmouth Medical Center’s Emergency Department. The previous day, Christian suffered a broken leg when he was hit by an out-of-control skier at Hunter Mountain.

“The clinic at the mountain put him in a temporary cast and advised us to see an orthopedist as soon as possible,” Carol says. “Christian was in a significant amount of pain since the accident occurred and endured an extremely uncomfortable three-hour car ride returning from New York. And to add insult to injury — literally — January 1 was also his 13th birthday.

“But once we arrived at Monmouth Medical Center, he was immediately brought into the ER without any wait or delay,” she adds. “The nursing staff could not have been more accommodating in dealing with Christian They immediately placed him in a comfortable room and addressed his pain and discomfort, and the physician staff attended to him personally in an extremely prompt and professional manner.”

Noting that her son is an “awesome skier,” she says the crash broke his tibia “clean in half,” but says he has since recovered completely and has returned to his active lifestyle, which includes biking, playing running bases, and skim boarding. She credits the exemplary care he received at Monmouth’s Emergency Department and is grateful to the “caring and knowledgeable staff” — including orthopaedic surgeon Marc Menkowitz, MD — who attended to him.

“As we all know, there is nothing worse than a parent seeing her child suffering or in pain,” she says. “The MMC ER staff was able to quickly allay my anxiety over Christian’s condition and make us both feel confident and at ease, knowing that he was being so well taken care of.”

Monmouth’s Emergency Department — which treats more than 15,000 children each year — is staffed by pediatricians with fellowship training in pediatric emergency medicine and supported by physicians like Dr. Stankovits with specialty training in a host of pediatric areas.

“As a designated Children’s Hospital, we see a high volume of pediatric patients in our Emergency Department,” says Catherine Hanlon, MD, chair of emergency medicine at Monmouth. “And we have specialists in every area of pediatric care available to consult with or examine patients.”