Like many student-athletes at Colton High School, Tom Wolf participated in multiple sports. His afternoons were filled with football, basketball, and baseball practices and his weekends with games and tournaments- until an injury sidelined him.
While playing in a football game in 2015, his sophomore year of high school, Tom unknowingly sustained an ulnar fracture when the tip of his elbow broke off. While it was uncomfortable, Tom didn’t know his injury was severe, so he play three more football games. Luckily for Tom, Colton High School is a member of the Regional High School Athletic Training Program through Pullman Regional Hospital, which means there's a Certified Athletic Trainer onsite to treat, rehabilitate, and prevent injuries: Kai Seshiki.
Kai referred Tom to Dr. Ed Tingstad, Orthopedic Surgeon at Inland Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine Clinic, who operated on Tom’s elbow.
“Kai tells me Dr. Tingstad still talks about my injury because he was so surprised I was able to play additional games after the injury,” laughs Tom.
After surgery, Tom was in a full arm cast for about a month. Once the cast came off, Kai was instrumental in rehabilitating the tendons and ligaments in Tom’s arm. “I’m happy to say I was able to play football again. I did require more attention from Kai before and after practices and games to improve my movement- he made time for me every single day,” says Tom. “Kai even built a special pad for me to wear when I played to protect my elbow area.”
In 2016, Tom underwent another surgery to remove some of the hardware that had been placed in his arm, allowing him to gain more movement in his elbow joint. “If it wasn’t for Kai, I don’t know if I would ever have been able to play sports and recover from this injury,” says Tom.
Kai Seshiki is part of the Regional High School Athletic Training Program, which puts Certified Athletic Trainers (ATCs) in 4 local high schools to provide consistent and efficient treatment, triage, and prevention of sports injuries. Student-athletes have access to these services at no cost to their family. If you’re interested in learning more about the program and its impact on student-athletes like Tom, please visit pullmanregional.org/athletic-training.