Amy Malouf

Alyeska Ski Patrol member Amy Malouf broke her ankle severely, requiring surgery with foot specialist Eugene Change, MD. Six months later she raced up Mt. Marathon.

Amy Malouf: Ankle Surgery Doesn’t Stop Her Racing Up Mountains

Alyeska ski patrol member Amy Malouf broke her ankle severely in December of 2015. She came to the OPA Walk-in Clinic for immediate care, followed up at the OPA Foot & Ankle Clinic with Dr. Chang and had foot surgery on-site at Alpine Surgery Center, then rehabbed with OPA Physical Therapy. Six months later she ran Seward’s infamous Mt. Marathon Race.

Interviewed just prior to running Mount Marathon 2016:

Back in December, skiing at Alyeska, I had a bad wreck and heard my ankle pop. Turns out it was broken and I needed surgery. Dr. Chang put a plate in the bottom part of my ankle and about five screws.

We’ve been doing PT at OPA two days a week, focusing on mobility, flexibility at first. Then we focused on building strength in the calf and then in my hips and getting all that back firing how they’re supposed to be firing. It’s been great.

Everyone pointed toward this date. I’ve been doing cross-training, mountain training and 2 mountains a week has been my average…I don’t feel like my ankle is gonna be holding me back — the ankle feels bomber!

…I have some little butterflies here today. I’m pretty nervous but once we get pounding on the pavement it’s gonna fun. It’s gonna be like any other training day up and down the mountain but with more friends.

Post-Race Interview:

My ankle felt great. My calves, quads, and lungs were burning but I didn’t even notice my ankle in the race. Bodies can recover…humans can do rad stuff!

Advice to Others:

If you’ve got health, you can take on life. …having my body being able to do what it needs to do is awesome because it inspires me to train harder, work harder, be a better mom, be a better friend, teach my kids. It’s awesome to be healthy; I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

If I can recover, anyone can recover! You can, too. You only have one body and one life – get after it!

Questions?

The OPA team includes Alaska’s leading specialists and offers some of the latest, most advanced treatment procedures available today.

OPA treats a wide variety of conditions and offers comprehensive treatment options — including many non-surgical solutions, minimally invasive arthroscopies (repairs) and total joint replacement.

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