This morning I was out in my front yard by 6:30 AM, feeding the 6 large, and 2 miniature rose bushes. I should have done it earlier, but I didn't. It's a job I hate. I have two really big bushes and I have to get on my knees and go under the bushes to dig around their roots to place the food. I was really tired when I got in. I was hungry, and my back hurt, but guess what did not hurt? My titanium knees.! In September of 2012, I made one of the best decisions of my life. I went to Dr. Jeffrey Hodrick, at the Southern Institute for Joint Replacement, and had my right knee replaced. A long time church friend, recommended him to me. I knew she had a bad knee, and she was recovering, and I also liked the fact that replacing joints is all they do at Southern Joint. This morning while I, ten years older, knelt on my knees, constantly, I was again thankful. I opted for one knee at at a time because, frankly I was afraid to do both at once. Dr. Hodrick said "That's probably a good idea because it is major surgery." I can only say that my recovery was swift, and I really did not have much pain. Going to my therapy was like having a part time job, but I did it, and in August of 2013 I had the left knee replaced. I can't help but think of me, 12 years younger, on a trip to Athens, feeling the need to have wheel chair assistance through the Chicago and Madrid airports. I remember my knee going out completely on a side trip to Verona from Venice which resulted in my having to have wheel chair assistance in Venice, where they had no jet bridge, and I had to be transported by ambulance to the plane and lifted up in the wheel chair to the plane because I could not climb the steps. Now, even though I am ten years older, I have taken so many trips, often exercise by walking three miles, and climbed the 360 plus steps up to the tower of Notre Dame. Southern Joint advertises by saying "When your knees, your hips, or your shoulders are making your decisions, it's time to do something about it." That's where I was. I stopped riding the tube in London, and took the bus instead, because it hurt to go up and down all the steps at the London tube stations. I did not go to Kew Gardens, or anywhere that took a lot of walking. I was taking Melaxicam daily and had been taking it for about five years. I had quit taking my killer walks at my Smoky Mountain cabin because when you have osteo arthritis in your knees and the cartiliage is being eaten away, going down hills or stairs actually hurts as much or more than going up. Luckily, I guess, my heart and lungs had long been in better shape than my feet and legs. Now my only worry about my knees is that I will wear them out, but my surgeon assures me that he wants me to exercise as long as I don't jump. I am so thankful I live in a city where I did not have to travel a long distance to have my knees replaced by Dr. Hodrick at Southern Joint Replacement. By now I would not have been able to walk at all, so thank you Lord, thank you Dr. Hodrick, and thank you Southern Joint Replacement. You rock, and so can I, still, at 75 years of age!