Living Pain-Free
"My life was turned around, and now I can do anything."
Farming is a major part of Bonnie's life. Her grandparents and parents were farmers, and her husband’s family were farmers. So, it was no surprise that she and her husband would build their lives on a farm.
But after years of milking cows, weed whacking, and throwing hay bales, the wear and tear took its toll on Bonnie’s hip.
“I was doing my daily things, helping my husband in the barn, and suddenly, I started getting this pain in my left leg," Bonnie says. "It just came out of nowhere."
Bonnie had an x-ray and MRI of her hip, and they showed she needed a complete hip replacement.
Knowing all of the work that had to be done on the farm over the summer, Bonnie tried unsuccessfully to postpone the surgery.
“The doctor told my husband that my hip was so bad, I wasn’t going to be able to wait until fall," Bonnie says. "And he was right because every day just got worse. I had so much pain. I couldn’t do anything. It was so depressing."
Bonnie had recently had a heart ablation, otherwise she would have had her hip replaced sooner. While she waited, Bonnie tried physical therapy and injections to ease the pain.
“I started to use a walker, but I just couldn’t get around,” she says. “I couldn’t get out of the car. I couldn’t dress myself. Waiting for my surgeons to clear me was rough.”
Bonnie saw Ronald DiSimone, MD, orthopaedic surgeon, UPMC Williamsport, for her surgery. He had replaced Bonnie's left knee in 2009 and her right knee in 2012.
Dr. DiSimone assured Bonnie that recovery from hip replacement surgery would be easier than her knees. She put her trust in Dr. DiSimone — and he was right.
“I was up and walking right after surgery, and I think I made three laps around the nurses’ station,” Bonnie says. “I felt great.”
The total joint replacement program at UPMC Williamsport offers a complete approach to care. It includes presurgery rehab and joint replacement classes to help prepare patients for surgery. Same-day joint replacement surgery is even available for those who qualify.
UPMC Williamsport also received The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Advanced Total Hip and Knee Replacement and the UPMC Health Plan Hip and Knee Joint Replacement Surgery Center of Excellence.
Bonnie was surprised at the level of care she could get so close to home.
“Why would I go to a big city when we have such a great facility right here, with all these great specialists just 10 minutes away?” she says.
In addition to the expertise, Bonnie can’t say enough about the personalized care she received at UPMC Williamsport.
“The staff was so great," she says. "They called me a few days after I went home to see how I was doing. And within 10 days, I was back on my tractor. It was just the best day ever.”
Now, Bonnie is pain-free. She's back in the fields, in the barn, and on her tractor, doing everything she loves.
"My life was turned around, and now I can do anything," she says.
Bonnie didn’t choose to need a hip replacement, but she did choose UPMC.
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