dr. kessler reset the bones in her hand wrist and forearm. but once she had healed from that surgery, she still couldn't move her fingers very well and that made it impossible to do most activities including catching a softball. ashley wasn't ready to give up yet, though. >> she's a tough girl. she, you know doesn't mess around and she has her mission set on playing softball and there wasn't anything that was going to get in her way. not five broken bones or anything else. >> reporter: that's when dr. kessler told her he could do another procedure. it's called wide awake surgery. patients are only given local anesthesia so they can actually move during surgery. that's important in ashley's case because doctors were working to free the tendons around the joints in her fingers to help them move. >> i see my hand and i got to see my bones and i got to see the plate, the tendons. it was awesome. >> reporter: so here's ashley today. she's back out on the field practicing catching and hitting. she says she's still trying to get back to where she wa

dr. kessler reset the bones in her hand, wrist and forearm. but once she had healed from that surgery, she still couldn't move her fingers very well. and that made it impossible to do most activities including catching a softball. ashley wasn't ready to give up yet though. >> she's a tough girl. she, you know, doesn't mess around. she has her missions set on playing softball and there wasn't anything that was going to get in her way. not, you know, five broken bones or anything else. >> reporter: that's when dr. kessler said he could do another procedure. it is called wide awake surgery. patients are only given local anesthesia so that they can actually move during surgery. that's important in ashley's case because doctors were working to free the tendons around the joints in her fingers that helped them move. >> so you know, they pulled the curtain down, i got to see my hand and my bones and my plates. the tendons. it was awesome. >> reporter: so here's ashley today. she's back out on the field practicing catching and hitting. she says she's

dr. michael kessler is an orthopedic hand surgeon. her bones were not set properly, so, when she tried to open and close her fingers to grab an object or to obtain an object she wasn't able to have appropriate motion to do any of those activities. >> reporter: dr. kessler reset the bones in her hand wrist and forearm, but once she had healed from that surgery, she still couldn't move her fingers very well. and that made it impossible to do most activities, including catching a softball. ashley wasn't ready to give up yet though. >> she is a tough girl. she, you know doesn't mess around. and she has her mission set on playing softball and there wasn't anything that was going to get in her wake not five broken bones or anything else. >> reporter: that's when dr. kessler told her he could do another procedure, it is called wide awake surgery. patients are only given local anesthesia so that they can actually move during surgery. that's important in ashley's case, because doctors were working to free the tendons around the joints in her f

dr. kessler says people in the d.c.that the sort of high intensity population that we have does have a high susceptibility of getting these injuries and also i think d.c. people are a little more food oriented. maybe than some other areas and try new recipes or try new things. >> reporter: dr. kessler says the best way to prevent the injuries is to slow down and use common sense. like making sure you're not bringing a sharp object toward your hand. helen sprainer said she's being more careful about what she's doing in the kitchen. >> think more about the repercussions about what you're doing. >> doreen gentzler, news4. >> very lucky. oh, man. >> yeah, immersion blender and the finger, slow down. you know what the best idea is, just order out. >> we have great restaurants in this area. i mean -- you could order out and go to the restaurant. >> you're paying, i'm eating. >> i didn't say that. >> you did. >> there's the way it sounded on this end of this desk. >> fair enough. all right. >> we'll get you some memos that you

dr. kessler said he could do wide awake surgery.s are only given local anesthesia so that they can actually move during surgery. that's important in ashley's case because doctors were working to free the tendons around the joints in her fingers that helped them move. >> so you know they pulled the curtain down, i got to see my hand and my bones. i got to see the plates, the tendons. it was awesome. >> reporter: so here's ashley today. she's back out on the field, practicing catching and hitting. she says she's still trying to get back to where she was, but she is feeling confident. >> it's very important. softball and basketball have been my life for almost ten years and it's been so much fun. it's what i love to do. it's what i want to do. and i'm really hoping to take it to the collegiate level. >> doreen gentzler reporting there. >>> today you can visit a new supermarket in alexandria. a new wegmans is open for business. the store offers similar products and selections as other wegmans, but it also has something no other wegmans

dr. jill gora: every child deserves a fair chance at life >> peggy stillman: it may only take an hour to do something that will change their lives forever. >> noreen kessler: and you just see a whole new person, a whole new beginning.

dr. jill gora: every child deserves a fair chance at life >> peggy stillman: it may only take an hour to do something that will change their lives forever. >> noreen kessler: and you just see a whole new person, a whole new beginning. it's almost like they're reborn. i can't think of another word but phenomenal. [ music ] >> roma downey: as a mother, i would do anything i could to help my child live a normal life. and i'm sure you would, too. but what if you couldn't do anything? what if you were totally helpless? that's the situation for hundreds and thousands of parents in developing countries whose children are born with cleft lip or cleft palate.