Joyce Beach

Back in the Saddle – Thanks to ACV

There’s an old saying that urges folks to “get back on the horse that threw you.” It’s a figure of speech, of course – an admonition that one must confront failure head-on and try again.

But for Joyce Beach, it literally happened. About five years ago, she took a nasty fall from a horse and broke her left leg badly – resulting in the surgical insertion of a titanium rod that extended from her knee to the ankle.

It occurred at a 400-acre site called “D Bar D Ranch,” a campground and horse-boarding facility she owns and operates with her father Don in Chase, Michigan, located between Baldwin and Reed City.

The accident was a definite setback for a woman who’s been active her entire life – beginning with her first job as a kid of 13 harvesting carrots while growing up in rural Michigan.

Joyce graduated from high school there in 1989, then earned a degree in business from Davenport University, and has worked some 25 years for the same company in quality management.

Though she did get back on horses four months later, she started to experience issues with her feet two years ago, developing neuromas between her toes which required removal. For a time, there were no additional problems. But in October of 2020, she noticed sores on the bottom of the middle toe on her left foot, “almost like a blister.”

They came and went, and then the toe began to discolor. In February of 2021, she finally consulted her primary physician. “He took one look at it and said I want you to get in and see someone right away who specializes in blood flow and circulation.”

He referred Joyce to Dr. Saab and ACV Centers in Grand Rapids.

“My doctor put it through as an emergency referral,” Joyce recalls. “Again, I thought I just had a sore, but I called in on a Thursday and they got me in on the following Monday. I had an ultrasound, and they found severe blockages in arteries to the foot. By Wednesday, I was having a procedure to open up two arteries in my lower leg and foot that were 85-95% blocked. So, within a week, I was taken care of.”

Since then, Joyce has had a few procedures performed to continue to provide adequate blood flow to both feet.

She’s grateful, she says, “First of all to my family doctor – Physician Assistant Thomas Cox at White Pine Family Medicine in Cedar Springs – for recognizing the signs there was something serious going on. He saw the warning signs and got me in as quick as he could.”

Joyce is also grateful to Dr. Saab and his team: “The care I’ve gotten at ACV has been amazing. They moved so quickly to care for me. And though I’ve been frustrated with my journey, all of the foot pain I had is now gone.”

Of Dr. Saab, Joyce says that “He’s amazing. And I have absolutely zero complaints. He and his staff have been so thorough, and I know he’s intent on taking care of me for the long term. And that’s such a comfort.”