Patient Testimonials

The doctor's words were ominous, "I have dedicated my life to saving knees, but your knee cannot be saved. You need a knee replacement. It is up to you how long you want to put this off. "In the past year I had been through two rounds of physical therapy, had my knee "scoped', and had endured injections. I was having a difficult time walking, especially on hard surfaces, Walking on sand was impossible. It was painful to work, and I couldn't even enjoy a vacation at the beach. It was as though I should understand that I was getting old. Was one more operation going to make a difference?

When I asked if he could recommend anyone, his answer was very straight forward. "There are several doctors in the area that I could recommend, but I am going to recommend Southern Joint Replacement Institute. No one is doing it better, and they have a total program in place.

"I called Southern Joint Replacement Institute, and I was matched with Dr.Jeffrey Hodrick. I met with Dr.Hodrick and the verdict was that I would have surgery July31, 2009. He didn't know if it would be a total or a partial knee replacement. It would be determined by what he saw when he got inside my knee, If he could do a partial, it would be better for me. I was going to be out of work from 3-6 months.

I was scheduled for a pre-op class to help me to prepare for what was ahead. I attended class with my daughter who was going to be my caretaker. They gave me a sheet of exercises to do pre-op and a list of items that I needed. However, the two items of most importance were the fact that I was not going to be able to drive for 6 weeks, and I needed to be in physical therapy three times per week for the next six weeks. A walker and a showers tool were purchased, and I began my pre-op exercises.

The day of surgery went by fast. I was waiting, and then I awoke in my bed. I had gotten a partial knee replacement. Everyone was very nice. Then the physical therapy department from St.Thomas came in, and they were very clear that there was work to be done. The therapists took me through my new exercise schedule and ended by pushing my knee back as far as possible. While painful I believe that it was probably the best thing they could have done, as I watched for weeks as other patients tried to bend their knees 120degrees.

I continued my physical therapy at Southern Joint Replacement Institute. The weeks that I spent after the surgery were filled with exercises. Dr.Hodrick says that his job is 10% of the recovery. It is up to you to do the other 90%. I had a job to return to that keeps me on my feet for long periods of time, and I was now on short term disability at 60% of my salary. Getting well was essential to me. I worked hard at physical therapy, and I worked hard at home doing my exercises over and over. The program at SJRI had me rotate between the therapists. I wasn't sure that I would like that, but it was the core strength of the program, as each therapist saw different things. Each one made corrections and fine tuned my movements. My muscles had to be retrained to operate with a working knee. I had a difficult time going from the walker to the cane and had to return to the walker for another week. That was disappointing.

I iced my knee for all 6 weeks. I used the Polar care 300. It is worth its weight in gold. We froze small bottles of water and put inside. We had 2 sets and we used them over and over. I pushed myself to do my exercises 1-2times per day when I was at home. My hard work paid off, as I was told to adjust my return to work to earlier. As soon as they removed my bandages and said that it was ok, I began to put vitamin E on my knee. When they released me from physical therapy, I started water aerobics at the YMCA. I could see amazing improvements each week in range of movement from the classes at the Y.

I returned to work On Oct. 12. My knee is strong, and I have no pain. I still go to my water aerobics classes, and my husband swears that I no longer limp. As spring turned to summer my knee became my own. I can't distinguish between the two. I have my life back. I never dreamed that I could have a total recovery, yet I have. Thank you, Dr.Hodrick!!! Your 10% made everything else possible.

The doctor who referred me to Southern Joint Replacement was correct. They have a total program in place. It took a team to help me achieve the results that I wanted. It is an outstanding team that I would recommend to anyone. However, it is a program that demands a commitment from you.

Brenda Christian
09September2010