38 March 2023
HEALTH
P
laying pool and shooting
darts were favorite pastimes
for Jeremy Perry, who moved
to Fayetteville six years ago
from upstate New York for
the warmer weather and to
reunite with family.
Care when — and
where — it's needed
Cape Fear Valley's new orthopedics residency program
boosts care in the community.
BY JAMI MCL AUGHLIN
He bought a house and was setting down
roots when he suffered an injury at work.
"I was hauling fuel in my tractor-trailer,
and when I went to pull the hose off, I felt
a snap in my arm," says Perry. "I started
losing feeling in my fingers and hand, up
my right arm."
Perry said his fingers and hand began to
curl up, which led him to Ben Levine, MD,
an orthopedic surgeon in Fayetteville.
"I had to stop doing some of the things
that I loved to do or try to do them with
my le hand. Dr. Levine said that it was my
ulnar nerve, and so we started down the
road of surgery and therapy," Perry says.
At age 33, Perry had developed ulnar
nerve palsy, a condition that can affect the
ability to make fine movements or perform
routine tasks.
He had four surgeries and worked with a
therapist multiple times a week to repair the
nerve damage in his hand and arm.
Now that Perry has regained feeling
and function in his hand and arm, he has
been able to open his own business in
Cape Fear Valley Health opened the Center for Medical Education & Neuroscience Institute in January. Photo by Tony Wooten
