On the Road to Healing
SUN Orthopaedics helps Tina get back to riding her bike and enjoying an active life
Arthritis doesn’t care about age and at 52, Tina Shemory, of Allenwood, found her left hip tormented by the condition.
“The pain was awful and it wasn’t just during the day,” said Tina, “at night it would be so intense it would wake me up and keep me up.”
For six years, Tina struggled to bend, unable to do regular everyday activities, and that just didn’t play well with her active lifestyle. She and her partner, Shawn, who have five kids between them, wanted to always make the most of their time outside of work to ride bikes, go to the kids’ games, play in the yard, and enjoy their ATVs. All of which became a struggle as the pain in her hip grew more intense.
She sought care and guidance at SUN Orthopaedics of Evangelical. Thomas Dominick, MD, worked with her to do a progression of care, using more conservative methods at first to attempt pain management.
On her 50th birthday, Tina underwent a direct pain injection into the hip using an X-ray to guide the shot. “I was hopeful but for me, the procedure just didn’t touch the pain.”
Once it was clear that surgery may be the only option for Tina to fully get involved with the life she loves, Tina decided to commit to a total hip replacement.
“I can’t say enough about the team at SUN Ortho. As soon as I decided to have the surgery, the staff and Dr. Dominick got my care plan going right away,” said Tina.
That care plan included physical therapy before surgery to build muscle strength and get her body prepared to receive the new hip. “I had a great trainer who challenged me to work hard at my pre-surgical exercises. He knew I would be seeing him following surgery, so he really set me up for success.”
The day surgery came, Tina was ready but anxious. “I knew I was as ready as I could be but still there was some fear—just because it is surgery and anesthesia. The staff though reassured me throughout the whole thing. The anesthesiologist was fantastic and talked me through any concerns.”
“The first day after surgery, I woke up and realized I had slept the entire night without waking up from pain. I couldn’t remember the last time that happened. It made me hopeful that we were on the right path for more quality living,” said Tina.
Post-surgery, Tina committed herself to the same hard work she put in before the procedure. With Shawn as her coach they did the exercises she was given religiously at home whenever she wasn’t at physical therapy— she dedicated herself to recovery. In addition, she and Shawn focused on nutrition, eating healthy and consuming foods focused on giving back to the body for strength and energy.
Today, she and Shawn enjoy their days off together, with the kids, doing every activity imaginable and not being held back by limiting hip pain. She also continues to exercise using her elliptical 30-minutes a day.
“Hip replacement by SUN Orthopaedics of Evangelical was the right choice for me,” said Tina. “From Dr. Dominick answering all of my questions and telling me what to expect, to the staff from surgery to recovery in the Hospital, their caring and light and happy attitude was what I needed to start my road to healing.”