Carol’s Hands: From “I Couldn’t Pour Coffee” to Back at Work
Carol Smith was active her whole life — golf, mountain biking, the kind of person who stayed in motion. Then osteoarthritis caught up with her wrists and hands, and the cartilage deteriorated to the point where daily tasks became genuinely impossible.
“I couldn’t lift a plate of food or a glass of water. I couldn’t make my bed and couldn’t vacuum. I couldn’t even pour a cup of coffee,” she said. A year and a half of steroid injections had stopped working. The next option she’d been offered: a surgical plate running from her wrist to her middle finger.
She came to Albano Clinic instead.
Dr. Albano reviewed her MRIs, explained what the imaging showed, and was direct about what treatment could and couldn’t deliver. Given the extent of the damage, the protocol was comprehensive: a combination of blood-derived cells, adipose-derived stem cells, bone marrow concentrate, and umbilical cells.
“I’ve had a lot of success,” Carol said. “There are things that will never be perfect, but I couldn’t move my thumbs or pull them back before because the pain was so bad. Now I can move them and they’re great. I have a lot more strength in my hands. I’m back to work.”
She offers this to patients considering their options: “Before you do surgery, check into it. See if it’s an option for you. Dr. Albano will be very honest with you about what your results can be.”