Western Orthopaedics helps founder's great-grandson return to sports
On a bluebird December day at Winter Park, 21-year-old CU Boulder junior Zach Matchett clipped into his skis, surrounded by friends and fresh snow. It was his first ski day of the season – something he looked forward to for months. A lifelong Coloradan, he’d grown up on these mountains.
“I ski, I love all kinds of sports – hockey, football, basketball,” he shared. “I also love to hike and be in the mountains.” Sports and the outdoors are a big part of who he is.And that afternoon was supposed to be another fun day in the mountains with friends. Instead, about halfway down the run, Zach hit a jump and the landing changed everything.
“I went off a jump and landed pretty hard. I knew right away something bad happened then,” he remembered.
Pain shot through his knee. Somehow, he still had to get to the bottom. “I had to ski the rest of the way down on one ski,” Zach said. “I’m pretty good at skiing so I know how to do one ski,” he added with a small laugh. But in that moment, it was anything but funny.
He tried to manage the pain at first. Ice, rest, staying off it. But an MRI on Christmas Eve revealed the truth. His ACL was torn. In fact, it had likely been damaged months earlier just messing around with his friends, and that one hard landing at Winter Park had totally torn it.
For an active college student who lived for skiing, sports and the mountains, the word “surgery” was scary. “I’d never had to have a surgery like that,” Zach explained. When it came time to choose where to have that surgery, his family didn’t have to look far. They turned to a practice with deep connections to their family.
Zach’s story isn’t just about his injury— it is also about coming home to a legacy. His great-grandfather, Foster Matchett, MD, was one of the early founders behind what would become Western Orthopaedics. Dr. Matchett served as a medical officer during World War II and then returned to Colorado to build a practice devoted to exceptional patient care.
“I never met him,” Zach said, “but my grandpa always talks about him and his time in the army as a medic and starting the practice.” His grandfather would often point out places in Denver where his great-grandfather started performing innovative orthopedic surgeries.
So, when it came time to fix his knee, his family turned to the place they’d trusted for generations—Western Orthopaedics.
He met Sean Baran, MD, right around New Year’s just after the MRI results. “He just told me exactly what the surgery would entail, and I felt confident that he was going to do a great job.”
Surgery happened at the end of January. The first days were rough, and even for someone who had always been active, the rehab was humbling. He spent time in a brace and on crutches, even taking them along on family trips.
But he was not going through it alone. Dr. Baran and the team at Western Orthopaedics built a recovery plan around Zach’s goals and the active life he wanted to get back to. With steady work in physical therapy, support from his care team and accommodations along the way, he was back in the gym and running again by the end of the year.
His advice to other young athletes facing an ACL tear is simple: “Definitely get the surgery. You only have two knees, and you have to keep them healthy.” From a painful injury to getting back to an active life, Zach’s journey is about more than ACL repair. It is about resilience, trust and the connection between a family and a practice that has cared for generations of Coloradans.
For Zach and the Matchett family, returning to Western Orthopaedics was more than a medical decision. It was a return to a legacy of care that began with his great-grandfather and continues today through physicians like Sean Baran, MD, helping patients heal, recover and get back to the lives they love.