Patient Stories 
Pat Baumann is no stranger to a challenge. As an avid endurance runner, formidable circumstances are kind of his thing.
Last year Pat found himself dealing with an unfortunate, unforeseen obstacle when he suffered a major shoulder injury during a race. Now, with the help of Monument Health’s orthopedic and physical therapy experts, he’s back on the trail and pushing himself farther than ever.
“What I love about endurance running is that it’s demanding. It’s like a wall you have to overcome,” Pat said. “When you start out running you hit a wall, and you can’t go any further. So you slam yourself into that wall again and again until you can make it another 100 yards; a little further and a little further. Over time, you’re now going many miles.”
The grit and mental outlook to overcome obstacles that endurance running cultivates was needed throughout Pat’s injury and recovery. He called on that perspective over the course of a year to receive surgical intervention, rehab his shoulder and resume his active lifestyle.
“I feel so blessed about what I can do with this arm and shoulder now,” Pat said. “I can lift it up and have a full range of motion. There was a time I couldn’t imagine getting back to this point after my injury.”
The Fall
It happened about halfway through the Bighorn Mountain Trail Run, an 18-mile extreme mountain endurance event set in some rugged, remote Wyoming terrain. Rain the previous night had made the primitive deer trail slick and muddy in the low spots but that wasn’t stopping the racers from attacking the course; Pat included.
Pat lost traction in the mud while descending a steep slope and felt his feet fly out from under him. “I was taking a risk,” Pat said. “I was just screaming down the mountain going full speed and pretty soon I was in the air.”
As he braced for a rough landing, Pat stuck out his left arm and came down with the full weight of his body on his elbow. The impact jarred his humerus bone from the shoulder, tearing his rotator cuff. In extreme agony and covered in mud, Pat had a moment to assess his circumstance.
“I knew I had to try and get up and finish, because it’s so remote out there that I didn’t want to have someone come in on horseback or have LifeFlight sent in,” Pat said.
Rising to his feet, Pat started off and fell again. This time, the impact forced the bone completely out of the joint, causing even more damage.
“Oh, man, talk about pain,” Pat said. “On a 1-10 scale, the pain was an 11 in that moment.” Pat received assistance from a fellow runner who stopped to check on him.
“I just asked her to pray for me,” Pat said. “She prayed and laid hands on me gently and as we prayed the bone popped into place and the pain came to a manageable level.”
There were 9 miles to go at that point, but Pat held his arm close to his body and made it to the finish.
The Comeback
Pat sought treatment at his hometown Monument Health Custer Hospital, where he began working with the physical therapy staff, including Kevin Sobolik, DPT, CSCS. Kevin, who is the supervisor of rehabilitation services at Custer Hospital, set a goal for Pat to achieve some healing standards before he could be a candidate for surgical repair to the shoulder.
“We put in a lot of hard work and used a lot of creativity with Pat to try and make sure we were sparking muscles to return like they’re supposed to,” Kevin said. “At the same time, we were watching the boundary to not overdo things. We worked that balance for quite awhile. Certainly there is still more work to do moving forward to heal and improve his shoulder.”
The importance of starting the shoulder to heal from the traumatic tissue damage was emphasized by Joseph L. Humpherys, D.O., FAAOS.
Comprehensive Care, Close to Home
Pat Baumann (center) credits his care team, Joseph L. Humpherys, D.O., FAAOS, (left) and Kevin Sobolik, DPT, CSCS (right), for his recovery. With access to high-quality care, close to home, Pat has been able to return to the trails, and get back to what he loves.
“One of the side effects of doing a surgery on the shoulder is the shoulder getting tight and stiff. So if you go into surgery tight and stiff you come out 10 times stiffer. For Pat, we had to do a lot of pre-physical work to get that range of motion back before he was ready to actually have a surgery,” said Dr. Humpherys, a fellowship trained sports medicine and orthopedic surgeon.
Rotator cuff repairs are a common procedure for Dr. Humpherys, who typically performs three to four such surgeries per week. What made Pat’s case unique, he said, was the emphasis on repairing the muscle so that Pat could eventually regain normal function.
“We didn’t know if we could repair the muscle initially, so we had contingencies in the surgery to recreate a muscle that’s not repairable,” Dr. Humpherys said. “We had to release a lot of different things and shift the muscles around a little bit. We were able to get his shoulder back where it belongs, and now Pat’s motion and strength is in a great place.”
Once the surgery was complete, there was still plenty for Pat to do in physical therapy. He has continued to see Kevin at Custer Hospital, as well as Dr. Humpherys, who regularly holds clinics there to better serve Southern Hills orthopedic patients.
“We have a super solid group of therapists here who all have a close relationship with our primary physicians,” Kevin said. “The ability to communicate with them and with Dr. Humpherys directly on a face-to-face basis makes a big difference for our patients.”
Recently cleared for full activity, Pat has a full range of motion in his shoulder and can do all the things he enjoys. That includes keeping up with his 20-plus grand and great-grandchildren, as well as getting back out on the running trail. Pat’s passion for running was sparked by his mother, who was an early influence and his top supporter in his own running goals.
“She would run around the block and I would follow her and just really enjoy it,” Pat said. “I ran my first marathon at 14, and I remember Mom in her ’55 Chevy driving ahead of me every few miles, making sure I was doing alright.”
Pat continued to pursue distance running throughout high school then college, and all the way through retirement.
One year removed from his accident, Pat once again competed in the Bighorn Mountain Race and dominated the course. Then, Pat set his sights on an even bigger goal: a 100-mile ultramarathon. In August 2024 Pat completed the Lean Horse Ultra, making it 100 miles on foot in 29 hours.
“I believed I was going to finish the 100 miles and if I didn’t finish, it wasn’t going to be because of my shoulder,” Pat said. “The shoulder did what it was supposed to do. I feel so blessed and can’t say enough about Dr. Humpherys and Kevin. Their care and professionalism has really helped me though all this.”