70-year-old cyclist active again after a complex hip fracture
At the end of August, Marlies Reinhardt set off on a trip to Latvia with her husband and two other visually impaired friends. The 70-year-old has herself been visually impaired since 2007 and is actively involved in volunteer work. She serves on the board of Tandemhilfen e.V., leads a self-help group for blind and visually impaired people in Querfurt, and also serves on the organization’s state board and as Deputy Chair of a foundation committee for the blind. “Among other things, I organize international tandem cycling tours for young people with severe visual impairments. Participants come from across Europe and, depending on their condition, are always accompanied by a so-called pilot or caregiver,” explains Marlies Reinhardt.
On August 27, after a 62-kilometer ride, the 70-year-old and her husband fell from their tandem bicycle. “The rear pedal caught on a curb, and we tipped over to the right. After the fall, I couldn’t get back up and was taken to a hospital in Latvia,” she recalls. She spent five days there confined to bed while working with ADAC to find a hospital in Germany that would perform the surgery. “I fractured my femur in the fall. However, the language barrier in Latvia made it difficult to establish the level of communication and trust I needed with the medical team, so having surgery there was not an option for me,” says the 70-year-old.
After several hospitals in Germany declined to admit and operate on her because of the longer period of time that had elapsed between the accident and the planned surgery, a recommendation from friends led her to Helios Park Hospital Leipzig. There, the Geriatric Trauma Center, working together with ADAC and in close consultation with the patient, organized her transfer back to Germany and admission to the hospital. “We admitted Ms. Reinhardt to our hospital on September 1, 2026, carried out a thorough examination, and operated on her the following day. The fall had caused a pertrochanteric femoral fracture. This type of fracture near the hip joint could only be treated surgically,” explains Dr. Holger Fuchs, Senior Physician and Specialist in Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery.
Marlies Reinhardt recovered quickly after the surgery. Just one week later, she was already walking along the hospital corridor and practicing climbing stairs with the physiotherapists. “The fact that Ms. Reinhardt recovered so quickly is a very positive treatment outcome. The prolonged period of immobility after the fracture and before surgery increased the risks for the patient and made the process of regaining mobility more difficult. Given these circumstances, we are very pleased that her recovery has been free of complications and delighted that Ms. Reinhardt is already so mobile again,” says Melanie Rauch, Senior Physician at the Department of Acute Geriatrics and Early Rehabilitation.
“For fractures near the hip joint, we routinely use specific osteoporosis treatment — antiresorptive therapy, for example with zoledronic acid. An annual infusion replaces weekly medication and helps counteract age-related osteoporosis. In addition, vitamin D levels are corrected. We used both of these measures in Ms. Reinhardt’s treatment as well.” – Dr. Stephanie Schibur, Head of the Department of Acute Geriatrics and Early Rehabilitation.
“Coming here was the right decision. Everyone was kind and welcoming from the very beginning. Both my medical treatment and the arrangements for personal assistance due to my blindness went smoothly. I felt safe here and had complete confidence in the team. I am therefore very grateful to everyone here,” concludes patient Marlies Reinhardt.
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