For years, my hips controlled what I could and couldn't do. By the time I finally had surgery, I couldn't stand for more than about 10 minutes and walking more than 100 feet was nearly impossible. If I dropped something on the floor, I needed a gripper to pick it up. I needed a special tool just to put my socks on, and I couldn't even clip my own toenails.
It affected the things I loved doing, too. I love to fish, but I couldn't stand on shore and fish anymore. On the boat, I had to sit down to fish because standing for any length of time was just too painful. After spending a day on a charter boat, the roughly 1,000-foot walk back to the car felt like an eternity. I knew I couldn't keep living like that.
Dr. Dundon replaced my right hip in February 2026 and my left hip in June. Both surgeries were outpatient, and the difference in my life has been incredible.
Today I can stand. I can walk. And I can do it without pain. Those sound like such simple things until you haven't been able to do them for years.
One day after my surgeries, I went to put my socks on and realized I could do it myself, without the sock helper I'd depended on for years. I literally cried. It had been eight years since I had been able to put my own socks on normally.
That's when it really hit me just how much of my life I had gotten back.
I'm back to doing the everyday things most people never have to think twice about, and I'm back to enjoying the things I love. I don't have to look for somewhere to sit because my hips are screaming at me. I don't have to wonder how far I'll have to walk or whether I'll be able to make it back to the car. I can just get up and go.
Dr. Dundon, THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME MY LIFE BACK!