“I met Mark Holt when we were freshmen at the University of Toledo in 1979,” said grateful patient Mark Butler of Newark, Ohio. “At that time, his girlfriend lived next door to mine, so between them we were introduced to each other. I was playing on the college football team, and Mark was going into medicine. We would chat about football when we hung out.
“I left the University after a year and started coaching football at Newark High School. It was sometime down the road I found out that Mark Holt, M.D. was the orthopedic doctor for Newark High School’s athletic team. I remembered him from college, and after I learned he was in town, we connected again. If there was any kind of problem, our team members went to see him.”
But little did Butler know, he himself would soon be needing the services of Dr. Holt.
“In January of 2009, I slipped on the ice and tore the meniscus of my left knee. Immediately, my first thought was of Mark Holt when I was told I would be needing surgery. He was in town, and we were good friends from a long time ago, so I went in through the Office of Workers’ Compensation (OWCP) and he took care of my Cortisone injections, as well as all the steps necessary to get me comfortable afterwards.
“Dr. Holt notified me he was becoming the newest orthopedic surgeon at Hocking Valley Community Hospital in Logan, and was reaching out to know if I wanted to continue my care with him. ‘Of course’, I said. ‘You have been with me from the start, and I’m not going to change horses mid-stream. If you were in Los Angeles I would follow you there.
“There was a period of about six months that once every six weeks I came to Logan to be examined, and he would take a look at my knee. It was about October of 2017, I decided it was time to retire from my job. After I set that up, I went to Dr. Holt and said ‘Okay, Doc, this is what I want to do and when can I do surgery?’ In January of 2018, my surgery was set up and it was a fantastic experience.
“I had my surgery on the 9th and was released on Wednesday the 10th. I want to share how it was such a wonderful experience. Not only with Dr. Holt as my surgeon, but the entire staff that took care of me, including my physical therapist. The food was great; I never once had any problems with that. My family was well taken care of not only during my surgery, but anytime they visited. They were offered meals, comfortable chairs, whatever was needed, the nurses would help take care of everything. They were absolutely wonderful!
“Today I’m doing really well. Because I grew up with Osgood Schlatter Disease, later developed tendonitis, and then tore the meniscus in the same knee he replaced, I will never have full bend of it, but I’m working on getting it as far as I can.
“I would recommend Dr. Holt to anyone who needs any kind of orthopedic surgery, and I would highly recommend Hocking Valley Community Hospital.”
For more information about HVCH Orthopedics, call 740-380-8140.