IN A LEAGUE OF MY OWN. Having bilateral total knee replacement on Jan 7th, 2019 puts you on a path few have ventured. But after years of injections and medication fails, it was time to make the decision to replace both knees. I’m turning 62 in a few weeks. I’m an active wife, mother and grammy, or I should say I was until the daily pain of bone-on-bone would send me to the recliner with my ice packs by the afternoon. The best part of the summer days were my husband and I’s early morning 20 mile bike rides around our area. Biking was the one thing I could do, yes bike 20 miles, but not walk 3 blocks! My appointment in Oct 2018 with Dr. Joe Nemanich started the discussion of what could be next and we picked the date for my bilateral TKR. On Nov 1st, I began my pre-hab at home with a daily routine to get in the best shape for Jan. I was confident going into surgery Jan 7th. It was a tough few weeks, but things seemed to be coming along according to my PT, Leah Toth, at Burnsville TCO. At 5 weeks post-op, it was apparent progress stopped and very active scar tissue took over and locked me at 90 degrees. The next step was the dreaded MUA on Feb 25th. Another blow to my recovery, but you have to keep fighting on! Leah and her team have been fantastic! They continue to encourage me every step of the way! Seeing your therapist everyday for 2 weeks at 80 minutes a session builds more than the usual relationship. Through tears of pain and frustration, there were also happy tears when a new ROM had been achieved! This has been one of the biggest events in my life. I’m still a comeback in progress, but I’m looking forward to each month that brings me closer to living pain free and chasing my grandkids this summer. I missed opening day at Target Field, but will look forward to attending some great summer evenings there.

Dr. Joe Nemanich and his physician assistant, Ashley, have given me so much high quality advice and assistance with my various joint issues that it’s hard to do a simple story. Dr. Nemanich has replaced two knees and handled a follow-up repair surgery and Ashley does the best job on knee injections. They are an excellent, highly informative team and have kept me mobile through a long journey dealing with pain from many athletic injuries in my younger life. I can’t say enough good things about them. I consider them, and all of Dr. Nemanich and Ashley’s support staff at TCO, a true blessing in my life.

I owe many thanks to Dr. Nemanich for my two new ACLs. 15 months ago I blew out both ACLs skiing. I was afraid I’d never ski the same way again. 2 weeks later I had bilateral ACL replacement surgery (also removed some hardware from previous surgery) and was out for the season. What a helpless feeling! I was like a turtle stuck on its back. I thought I’d never get back to walking normal, let alone skiing again. I’m an avid mountain biker and skier; I did not want to lose any ability to do the things I love. I was lightly biking on a stationary bike within 3 months and riding the local mountain bike trails in 5 months. 7 months later I rode hard without fear and without braces. Biking made my knees feel great! 650 miles of trail riding and 2 hours of physical therapy a day really helped my progress. But what about skiing? That was my main concern. I skied as much as possible this season, hoping for the best, wondering if the knees would hold out. I’m happy to say I put in over 500k vertical feet. I skied locally and also visited Vail, Keystone, A-Basin, Breck, Beaver Creek, Grand Targhee and Jackson Hole. I’ve never put on more miles on my bike or more vertical feet skiing in one season ever before. And I was able to do this thanks to Dr. Joe Nemanich. He gave me the confidence, advice and support to come back just as strong as I was before my surgery. Do your physical therapy, think positive and work hard toward your goals. You CAN come back stronger!