A step in the right direction: Gayle’s Story |
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Just 12 weeks after having her second hip replaced, Gayle found herself
halfway around the world in Australia on a working holiday. She spent 10
days teaching classes in six different locations, took four flights, hiked
along the Pacific Ocean, swam in its waters, and crammed in all kinds of
sightseeing, from the Sydney Opera House to the Immigration Museum.
It is hard to believe that less than two years earlier she was in such pain she had to give up walking her dog, Jesse.
“Every 100th step or so my hip would give way,” recalled Gayle, 56, of Portland, Oregon.
Gayle is a massage therapist who flies around the world teaching others how to provide relief to cancer patients. She did not like being out of commission because of hip pain. She tried acupuncture, massage, and pain medication, but nothing did the trick, so she took the next step.
Less than six months after the pain began, Gayle had her left hip replaced with a traditional implant. A little more than a year later, she had the right one replaced, this time with the Zimmer® Kinectiv® Hip.
Gayle was born with shallow hip sockets. Once she developed arthritis in them, it progressed very quickly. After surgery to replace her right hip with the Zimmer Kinectiv implant, Gayle said her hip immediately felt more stable and could bend more compared to her left hip after surgery with the traditional implant. Less than six weeks after having her right hip replaced, she was back on an aeroplane, flying to Toledo. Since receiving the Zimmer Kinectiv hip, Gayle says she feels much more confident and steady on her feet.
Friends and co-workers noticed the difference, too.
“When you have that kind of pain, you just kind of pull inward, and you don’t even realise it, but others do,” Gayle said. “After I got my hip replacement, a friend said, ‘Wow, you’re really walking lighter on your feet!’”
That is a plus, considering all of the walking she had to do in the land down under. “The trip definitely improved my fitness level,” Gayle said.
Bob’s story
A maintenance employee for a haulage company, Bob likes staying active. When the doctor told him he had osteoarthritis in both hips, Bob researched surgeons until one recommended the Zimmer Kinectiv hip. He had one surgery to replace both hips with the Zimmer Kinectiv hip, which allowed his surgeon to independently control specific size and shape aspects of the hip joint to optimize fit and function for Bob’s distinct anatomy.
The first day after his surgery Bob already could feel the difference when he stood up for the first time. The stiffness in his hips was gone, as was the instability.
“I was a little wobbly at first, like Bambi on the ice,” he said. “But my hips felt completely different.”
A day later, Bob was home and, to the delight of his family, he is now back to his old self.
“They’ve all been amazed,” Bob said of the success of his dual hip replacement. “And me, too, really. I wish I had done it a year or two earlier.”
Kevin’s story
“After college, I played professional basketball in Australia,” said Kevin, now a telecommunications executive and married father of two college-age daughters in Portland, Oregon. “While in Australia, and for travelling teams in the U.S. afterwards, I played on a lot of cement surfaces. I think that’s actually what caused my hip problems, much more than football did.”
No matter its origin, the nagging pain that began in Kevin’s right hip more than a decade ago eventually developed into acute osteoarthritis that left him tossing and turning in bed at night.
“I was probably in my 40s when I started having pain,” said Kevin, who for years ignored the discomfort as he continued playing for club basketball teams.
Gradually, the constant stiffness and discomfort grew to become a part of Kevin’s everyday life, so much so that friends would tell him he was limping and he did not even realise it.
By 2007, however, the escalating pain in Kevin’s hip was taking a serious toll. It was affecting his work, his sleep and favourite activities such as taking the family dog for walks. It was, of course, affecting his basketball games, as well. Finally, he saw a doctor, who told him his days on the court were over.
“He said that I needed to stop playing basketball and that I needed to stop now,” Kevin said. “The pain had got to the point where I couldn’t sit in my office chair for more than five minutes without having to stand up.
“And trying to sleep? I’d get up out of bed in the middle of the night, go downstairs and lay down with one leg over the arm of the couch. But nothing really helped.”
Kevin had his hip replaced in December 2007 with the Zimmer Kinectiv hip implant, which offers one of the broadest range of shape and size options available today. After surgery, he said his hip immediately felt stronger and more flexible.
Mere weeks after receiving the hip implant, Kevin was on his bicycle training for Cycle Oregon, a week-long, 500-mile trek across the state. He continues to train steadily.
“I’m going biking this weekend and I’m still able to stay active thanks to the surgery,” he said. “There’s no question that I’d recommend this implant for anyone with hip pain.
“I’m not tossing and turning every 10 seconds in bed any longer,” Kevin added. “It’s great. I can sleep again.”
* Patient testimonials included in this material reflect actual patient experiences. In return for allowing Zimmer, Inc. to inform others of their unique situation, patients identified have received nominal compensation.
