A Good, Healthy Run

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle means making the right choices for personal wellness. When life threw a curve in one Brookings woman’s wellness road, she turned to Brookings Health System to help her get back on track.

Running is a way of life for Andrea Schmidt. 

“I am a runner. I have always been a runner. I grew up in the running community.”

Over the years, running has been a social outlet for Andrea, allowing her to build strong friendships with the people with whom she runs. It has also helped her maintain her physical, mental and emotional health. She doesn’t feel like herself when she can’t run. When her foot started hurting this past spring, it affected her overall wellness. 

“I was noticing some pain on the bottom of my foot. It was enough that I couldn’t run the way I wanted to,” said Andrea. “I was training for a half marathon at the time, and it was just bothering me a lot.”

Not running was a big deal for Andrea. She decided to see Podiatrist Dr. Trevor Haynes at Avera Medical Group to treat the cause of her pain. The source: a cluster of blood vessels on the bottom of her foot that became irritated when she ran. 

Andrea’s pain wouldn’t go away on its own. She decided to have Dr. Haynes remove the mass at Brookings Health System, a quick, same-day surgery procedure.

“I wasn’t really that nervous because I was comfortable with Dr. Haynes and the procedure at Brookings Health System,” said Andrea. “They walked me through everything. I knew everything that was going to happen before surgery, during surgery and after surgery.”

Brookings Health System’s team also lived up to Andrea’s other local health care expectations, showing kindness, understanding and responsiveness. 

“You’re in the hands of people who care about you and the community that you’re in,” said Andrea. “I don’t want anything that is impersonal. I don’t want to be just another number going through the assembly line.”

After surgery, Andrea had to remain off her foot for three weeks, using a walking boot and knee scooter to get around. Once her foot had healed sufficiently, Dr. Haynes gave her permission to start using it. She was back running shortly after. While at first she only ran a few miles at a time, a month later she completed her half-marathon. 

“If I hadn’t had the surgery, I don’t think I could have run it. I think I would have been sidelined for a while.”

Now Andrea is back to her running lifestyle and the balance it brings her personal wellness. 

To watch more of Andrea’s story, visit online at www.brookingshealth.org/podiatry.