See published article here.

Jody Leberman, known by most as “Tug,” lives in Bigfork, Montana, and loves riding mules. “People say ‘you can’t ride a mule’, but don’t tell my mules that,” says Tug.

A former law enforcement officer, he and his wife, Annie, moved to Montana as soon as he retired. “We couldn’t get here fast enough,” says Annie, a care coordinator at Kalispell Regional Healthcare (now Logan Health). “We love Montana. We love this community. And, Tug loves exploring these mountains with his mules.”

Just two months ago, Tug and Annie weren’t certain he’d ever ride again, after experiencing a traumatic accident with his beloved animals. It began with an ordinary Friday training ride. Tug was at a cattle ranch in Melrose, a small town near Dillon, to get some extra training on his riding mule. All went well, and he was invited to ride again the next day to help recover some cattle that had been separated from the herd.

That Saturday morning, they went out early and Tug was quite pleased that he had been the one to spot the stray cows that were hiding down in a ravine. In the excitement, Tug’s mule began to trot down the steep hill to reach the cows as they had begun to move. In doing so, his left foot slipped out of the stirrup, he lost his balance and slipped out of the saddle. He then fell down the sharp vertical drop. “I distinctly remember five separate impacts,” Tug recalls, as he never lost consciousness in the fall. “Once I finally came to a stop, I realized that I couldn’t get up and it felt like I couldn’t breathe.”

He immediately hit the SOS button on his GPS tracker—a device he never rides without—and a helicopter arrived within 20 minutes. He was transported to the nearest hospital in Butte, where they worked to stabilize him and notify his wife, Annie, of the accident.

Annie remembers receiving the call. She made the long drive from Bigfork to Butte as she continued to get updates on his condition. When she finally arrived and saw him, she knew she needed to begin making arrangements to bring him to Kalispell to receive the specialized care he was going to require. She contacted specialty trained trauma and critical care surgeon at KRH, Dr. Erik Peltz, who helped support and guide her decision making throughout that day. Monday morning she began making the transfer arrangements. By that evening, A.L.E.R.T., Kalispell’s air-ambulance service, picked up Tug from Butte and transferred him to the KRH intensive care unit, where Dr. Peltz and Dr. Sydney Lillard (Trauma Medical Director at KRMC) continued to evaluate his condition.

The results of the imaging revealed the full extent of Tug’s injuries. He had a lacerated spleen, 11 rib fractures, a shattered scapula, and his diaphragm was going to need repair as his stomach had already begun to push through. It was clear that surgery was imminent.

Dr. Lillard and Dr. Peltz went to work. “Tug’s chest had caved in from the fractures which were compressing and piercing his lung and diaphragm,” explains Dr. Peltz, who is fellowship trained in Trauma Surgery and Surgical Critical Care, and specializes in severe trauma. “Patients who survive this type of severe chest trauma often experience significant disability with lifelong oxygen requirements, limited mobility and are never able to regain the level of activity they were used to. Without repair it would be very unlikely for Tug to ever return to the activities he loves; riding mules, packing in the wilderness or working outdoors.” Dr. Peltz relocated to Kalispell last fall from University of Colorado in Denver where he helped develop the Traumatic Chest Injury Reconstruction service and specializes in one of the most recent innovative procedures for repairing rib fractures, rib plating. During the rib plating procedure, titanium plates were screwed into the broken ribs to stabilize fractures. Together, Dr Lillard and Peltz were able to repair Tug’s diaphragm and placed seven plates to reconstruct and stabilize his rib cage.

Dr. Peltz’s ability to perform the complex procedure here in Kalispell not only saved Tug’s life, it kept him close to his wife and support system. “I didn’t want him to go to Seattle, I wanted him to be at home, so I could be there for him,” explains Annie. “We take pride in the care that we give here. We’re so lucky to have these physician here at Kalispell Regional. Without these surgeons and staff here, my husband may not be sitting here today. The moment I got him here, I could see light at the end of the tunnel.”

The surgeries were successful. By Thursday of that week, Tug, whom one day prior was having difficulty breathing on his own, was now able to sit up by himself and have a conversation with his wife. “He could cough, sneeze, and laugh with relatively little discomfort,” says Annie. “The transformation was just astounding.”

Five days later Tug was back in surgery. This time, it was with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Karen Perser to repair his shoulder. After two days, he was transferred to inpatient therapy where Dr. Mark Weber and his team helped Tug begin his journey to recovery. He worked extensively to pass a series of occupational, physical, and cognitive thinking therapies—a collaborative re-learning of functions Tug jokingly described as “attending Weber University.” He regained mobility, earned himself an honorary graduation, and the release to finally go home.

Annie and Tug are grateful for the quality of care they received at Kalispell Regional Healthcare. They referred to his team of physicians (Dr. Peltz, Dr. Lillard, Dr. Perser, and Dr. Weber) as the “Fab Four.” The Lebermans believe it was the nurturing and collaborative care of the entire staff—physicians, nurses, therapists, and the cafeteria workers who provided Tug with “best chocolate chip cookies on this planet”—that resulted in his remarkable recovery.

“With such an active population here in the Valley and with many people like Tug who take care of their own stock, ranch, farm, or work in the outdoors—and who are physically active throughout their lives it is essential to provide them the best opportunity for both survival and long term function,” says Dr. Peltz. ” I am very proud that as a team we are able to provide this specialized care for patients locally where they have family and community support.”

Tug has since been in physical therapy in Bigfork and continues to make leaps and bounds in his rehab. He has no plans of slowing down. “With these kind of scars, can you imagine the stories I can tell around a campfire?” he says. “I’m on probation right now, but I’m going to get back in the saddle as soon as the snow melts.”

For Annie, she has never been more proud to be a part of the healthcare system that took such great care of her husband, and allowed him to continue living life to the fullest. “You can either watch life go by as you are sitting in a recliner, or you can take advantage of life and really get out there and do it,” she laughs. “And, as you can tell, my husband doesn’t sit in the recliner.”