Meet Saylum

On December 29, 2024, at 9 months old, Saylum woke up like normal. Her dad got up with her and was feeding her a bottle when he felt a bump on her leg and woke her mom. After seeing and feeling the bump on her little leg, her mom and dad decided to take her to the local hospital. An x-ray revealed a break in her leg. The following day, they followed up with a specialist in Toledo, who put her in a cast for 3 weeks. After those 3 weeks, the doctor recommended a brace for her leg. Saylum did not like this brace and quickly learned to remove it on her own. By the end of March, she had injured her leg again, so the doctor in Toledo referred her to another specialist in Columbus.

This specialist knew that they couldn’t perform the surgery she needed to reconstruct her tibia, so they referred her to Dr. Iobst. Dr. Iobst met with her mother on April 14, 2025, and they quickly decided to perform the surgery to fix her tibia sooner rather than later. However, before proceeding with surgery, Saylum needed to meet with Dr. Mahan at the bone clinic to discuss the infusion she required. They met with the bone clinic on April 29 and then had her infusion on May 12.

On May 28, 2025, Saylum underwent tibial reconstruction with Dr. Iobst. During the surgery, a plate and screws were placed where part of her tibia was removed. Additionally, a rod was placed where part of her fibula had to be removed, and an external fixator was placed on her leg, all at just 1 year old.