Hip Replacement Surgery in Pandemic Times
Hip Hip …. delay … Hooray! Hip Replacement Surgery in Pandemic Times As seen in Patient Stories, Rehab, RVNAhealth News, Spotlight Above: Terri Alexander prior to surgery discussing the stairs at her Home Safety Evaluation with RVNAhhealths Joe Naber OT It was late March, and Terri Alexander was ready. Ready to be done with the pain, the sleepless nights, and mostly ready to get back to being herself again. It was time for her surgery. But then, it wasn’t time. The Coronavirus pandemic had taken hold in the United States and elective surgeries such as Terri’s total hip replacement were all being postponed. The news came on the day prior to her pre-op appointment. “I entirely understood the reasoning, of course,” says the long-time Danbury resident, “but it was still extremely disappointing. I had finally decided to take action and was looking forward to being “myself” again. It was a major letdown.” The pain and discomfort were getting old. A few years prior, still only in her mid-50s, Terri had started feeling progressive pain on her left side. “At first I thought it was sciatica or perhaps too much running, as I was not normally a runner but had recently added it to my workouts,” she explains. But it didn’t go away. Instead, it got worse. Finally, after a European vacation with her family last autumn, in which Terri painfully struggled to keep up walking through capital cities, Terri’s daughter implored her to do something. “It had become unbearable,” says Terri. “That’s when I went to Dr. Deveney [of OrthoConnecticut].” Above: Terri Alexander reviewing exercises with RVNA health Occupational Therapist Joe Naber“Often our first course of action is to provide non-operative solutions to ease a patient’s pain,” explains Dr. Deveney, “Terri was already to the point that surgery was her best option
