Patient Testimonials

I met Dr. Szalapski and had my first hip replaced at 42 years old – scared to death! It went perfectly and no limp. I had my knee replaced at around 50 years old and my other hip done a year later. Last year, I had my shoulder replaced and was told I may only get 70% of my range of motion back – I got 100%. I would never think of anybody but Dr. Szalapski to perform my surgeries when I have had the best care and absolutely no complications!! His support team and Jessica are the best also! Bonus he has a good sense of humor.

A friend of mine has seen Dr. Szalapski for over 20 years and gave him a glowing recommendation! I was struggling with my knees and walking stairs. The minute Dr. Szalapski walked in to see me, he was professional and down to earth! I immediately knew that I was going to like him. He watched me walk and looked at my knees and said right away I needed replacements. We did the left knee three years ago and the right knee this past summer of 2018. I am very happy with the outcome and can do the stairs with no pain. When I wanted more pain meds I was given the maximum allowed and was okay with that because I did not want to become addicted to a medication. I watched a child of mine struggle with addiction and knew that was not something I wanted or needed in my life! When Dr. Szalapski stops the pain meds he is following guidelines. I would recommend him to anyone that needs replacements!

I chose to have my knee replacement surgery with Dr. Szalapski based on the recommendation from my daughter. Dr. Szalapski and his staff walked me through the procedure and explained what to expect for surgery and recovery. 3 months post-surgery and everything is going well and I am feeling better. I would highly recommend Dr. Szalapski and the staff at New Prague surgery department.

On February 13th, 2018 I had my first knee replacement. Then on December 7th, 2018 I had my second knee replacement by Dr. Szalapski. He is very professional at his job, answered any questions I had and he had a good sense of humor. I would highly recommend him to anybody who needs a knee replacement! Thanks Doc for the good work!!
Ron G.

Before surgery, I could not walk across Home Depot without looking for a lawn chair to sit in because of aching pain in my leg. I also did not sleep well because of pain. After surgery the relief was immediate. All pain gone. I would do it again but very happy I don’t have to. Thank you Dr. DuBois!

I had torn my left meniscus in December 2017 and discovered I had no cartilage and I was filled with arthritis. In January 2018, I had surgery to try and take the rough edges off my meniscus but it was unrepairable. I had never had any knee trouble prior to this. Then in February 2018, my right knee started really hurting, I found out it too had no cartilage and was filled with arthritis. In just a few months, I went from exercising and living an active life, to being completely immobile and being in constant pain. Every step I took felt like a knife was going through my knees. I could barely make it through my work day, let alone anything else. I couldn’t even go grocery shopping without coming home in tears. I would spend my nights and weekends sitting on the couch doing nothing but watching TV and becoming more and more depressed. Then, in September, I tore my right meniscus. I didn’t think it could get any worse. I was told I needed two knee replacements but several doctors told me they wouldn’t do the surgery until I was in my 60’s. Then I found Dr. O’Neill, and he changed my life! He performed a double knee replacement in February 2019. I was able to leave the hospital on day 3 and go home (not to a rehab facility like we thought). I climbed the stairs and was able to sleep in my own bed! Within one month, I was walking my dog for over a mile every day, going for bike rides, and had a range of motion better than most people that have never had a knee replacement! My mental health has never been better, I feel like a new person and am grateful for every day. I enjoy waking up and living my day. I was able to attend my daughters college graduation with pure joy and no fear of how far I had to walk. Dr. O’Neill will never know how much I appreciate how much he did for me mentally as well as physically. He literally gave me my life back.

Imagine being sledded down a mountain “blue” ski run headfirst by ski patrol, while being wrapped up like a mummy, with a newly splinted leg! That was the beginning of my comeback story. The ambulance ride to Vail Hospital was brief and the emergency room staff quickly diagnosed the seriousness of my injury—a complete quadriceps tendon tear!

My choice was to either have immediate reconstructive surgery there or back in Minnesota. After conferring with my home doctor, the logical decision was to fly home and have the surgery and subsequent aftercare along with physical therapy, all at Twin Cities Orthopedics. I left Vail immediately, with a splinted leg and crutches, and was back in Minneapolis the next morning, en route to the Blaine TCO Urgent Care Center that also has surgical and physical therapy teams. Once there, I was examined and the Vail diagnosis was confirmed. My surgery was scheduled and following my pre-op physical, I arrived back at the Blaine TCO for surgery that was performed by Dr. Jason Barry with Rebecca Munson, PA-C, assisting.

The procedure involved the reattachment of the quadriceps tendon to the patella, along with 30 staples to close the wound site. I was released that day wearing a new, adjustable leg splint that could be dialed by degree to restrict knee flexing along with cautionary instructions not to re-injure the tendon and to follow a specific knee/quadriceps rehab protocol in physical therapy.

Snow and ice made navigating on crutches very difficult. With the leg splint set to no knee flexing for the next two weeks, my quality of life quickly deteriorated. One does not realize how difficult living can be without mobility until it happens. I somehow managed through the holidays.

At two weeks, I had a post surgery visit with Rebecca and had the staples removed. The battlefield surgery site was healing well and Rebecca gave me encouragement that indeed I was progressing. I received physical therapy orders consisting of twice weekly PT, working towards 60 degree of knee flex by the end of the next 30 days.

Previous to the accident, my wife and I had booked the month of January in Florida and now, I would begin my PT there away from snow and ice. Finding PT in Florida during the winter months proved to be difficult due to an abundance of seniors and golfers needing PT. Those first 30 days were challenging and I slowly made incremental progress towards my flex and strength goals.

I returned to TCO for my six-week post surgery checkup by Rebecca. The visible surgery site was now healed and I received new, twice weekly, physical therapy orders to rebuild my quadriceps strength, increase knee flexibility to 120 degrees, and improve my mobility with the goal of weaning myself off crutches by the end of the next 60 days.

I was fortunate to be assigned a highly trained and professional TCO physical therapy team primarily consisting of Ashley Rundle, DPT, and on occasion Maribeth Honomichl, ATC, PTA. The Blaine physical therapy center also contained state-of-the-art equipment that, along with instruction by the PT team, made a tremendous difference in the tempo of my recovery. For example, Ashley utilized their BFR (Blood Flow Restriction) machine on me that speeds up the strengthening of muscle mass by restricting blood flow to the affected area. Muscle mass strengthens more quickly in an anaerobic state. The PT team also gave me exercise routines to perform at home and as my progress improved, exercises were added to build my recovery step-by-step. I definitely could see I was making progress and this added to my confidence in regaining more mobility. Going down stairs by single stepping the treads was a concern of mine and we worked through that. Another concern was getting up off the floor without something to pull myself up with. Here again, the PT team worked with me to show me how I could accomplish this. Sounds simple, but again losing mobility and strength as I did, I had to regain my confidence and ability to do these tasks. The PT team made the therapy sessions fun that also encouraged me to do my PT homework. I always ended my PT sessions with their ice compression machine that reduced swelling and made my leg feel good.

I made my final post surgery visit with Rebecca after 3 months post surgery and she gave me the “return to normal activities” order. I felt like a marathoner running through the tape—I made it! While I know I still need to continue my strengthening, I have her confidence in my progress and the backup–if I need more care, don’t hesitate to call.

In summary, TCO provided compassionate care in all aspects (surgery and aftercare, physical therapy and training) that made my comeback story a success. All of their staff, including those not specifically named in this story (nurses, anesthesiologist, receptionists and others behind the scenes) played a vital role in my comeback and I am truly grateful. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend TCO to my family and friends! Thank you!

Hello! My name is Ann and I’ve been a nurse for 40 years now, started when I was 6! I manage the MN Veterans Home Adult Day Center, where a group of “angels” care for our nations Veterans who mostly suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. We call it, “the Vet’s Club”. I got up at 4am on the morning of December 7th, 2018 (D-Day) – should have known, and was so excited because we were having a holiday party for our Veterans and their families, and all the staff dress up silly. Well, coffee cup in hand and still half asleep, I tripped over a boot in the hallway at home, and went airborne landing on my left shoulder. All I saw were stars and felt pain like I’ve never felt before, made labor pains feel like a walk in the park. I crawled to my phone, called for help, and ended up at Fairview Ridges ER. Long story short, shattered neck of my humerus (not humorous to me!) and was sent to Burnsville TCO to see Dr. Lewis, who felt I had fallen the correct way and could possibly heal without surgery – I fell the right way! Yaay! Was he kidding? I could hardly move and about wanted to die from the pain. It’s funny how you take simple, everyday things for granted, like fixing your hair or brushing your teeth, until you can’t do them by yourself and have to rely on others – nurse’s are not good at asking for help! I, of course went back to work after 9 days, way before Doc Lewis said I could (don’t tell him!). Nurse’s make really bad patients! When Doc Lewis gave the okay, I was put into the wonderful hands of a physical therapist, Alex Niznik, who made me feel I could get my life back – no whining allowed! I worked with Alex every week and was doing so well, I graduated early! It’s been almost five months now, and nothing can stop this old nurse, daughter of a Marine – pain is just weakness leaving the body! I told that to Alex all the time. I really learned from Alex that if you think you can, and stay positive, you can do it! Alex – you ROCK! All my thanks, always, Ann.

Being active and inspiring others to be active is my life! Before my injury, I was very active in cross-fit type competitions, running, lifting, paddle boarding, kickboxing, yoga, etc. If there was a way to challenge and move my body, I was all about giving it a try. I am an elite-level group fitness instructor and kickboxing coach at Lifetime Fitness. I have an active husband and 4 very active children! When we are not in a hockey rink, at a soccer field, football field or gymnastics gym, you can find us hiking, biking, paddle boarding, swimming and visiting obstacle and trampoline parks.

We, as a family, decided to skip trick or treating this Halloween and do something active! We went to a local trampoline to jump and play on the ninja warrior course. And that is where my life as I knew it came to a screeching halt! My kids and I were trying to make it up the warped wall, but I had a very hard fall that dislocated and broke my left ankle and (what I believed to have) jammed my right thumb. I was taken by ambulance to the local ER where they stabilized my ankle and told me to contact an orthopedic surgeon. Sheer panic set in. My whole personal and professional life revolves around me being active and inspiring others and now I was immobile!

I was extremely lucky to have Dr. Coetzee with TCO repair my ankle. The surgery was very successful! But I knew the road ahead of me was going to be a long, uphill climb! The weeks after my surgery I had a lot of bad days! A lot of my bad days were more mentally bad then physically painful. My entire way of life was completely flipped. Instead of me helping, inspiring and motivating others, I was stuck relying on others to help me with basic tasks. I felt like I missed out on a lot, especially during the holiday seasons. I was stuck on sideline watching everyone else play and enjoy life. When things were looking up, at my six week post-op appointment, my surgeon took a look at what we believed to be my jammed thumb and brought in a hand specialist. An MRI the following day confirmed my jammed thumb was actually 2 torn ligaments that required surgical repair! I couldn’t believe it! I was starting physical therapy and now headed back to the operating room. Once again, I knew I was in good hands having Dr. Koch with TCO repair my thumb. Another very successful surgery but this made my recovery more challenging! Regardless, I was bound and determined to get back to where I was before my crazy crash. I needed to prove to myself, my kids, my husband, my coworkers and my group fitness members, that even when we experience set backs – even a horrific injury – you can come back!!

I was extremely motivated and anxious to start and crush my physical therapy, and shortly thereafter, my occupational therapy! My mindset going into therapy was that this is my job for the next 16 weeks. I needed to dedicate 100% of myself during my therapy sessions, make a point to never miss a session and to do my daily exercises at home. My physical therapist, Meredith Butulis, was so amazing and motivating. She was very clear with my plan for therapy and she knew and understood my goals. I felt at every session we made progress so it made going to therapy very exciting! Meredith described my plan as a freight train, we are always pushing and driving forward but in a controlled pace. She was very clear that I could not push my ankle too much or it could reverse my progress. Slow and steady really does win the race! I also had to spend time in occupational therapy for my thumb. I was going to physical therapy for ankle twice a week and occupational therapy once a week. It consumed my life but again, I made it my job to get back!

After 15 long weeks, I graduated from therapy!! I was beyond excited to see how far I had come!! Now another battle was about to begin! I needed to get back to teaching group fitness! As a group fitness instructor, I perform most of the class with my members. Doing every movement with them! I took it slow. I started out by walking on the treadmill and using other cardio machines. I was lifting weights to strengthen my body. And of course still performing all my physical therapy stretches and exercises! And just like physical therapy, I felt that every time I stepped into the gym I was making progress. I had a goal of April 1st to teach my fist class!

April 1st came very fast but I was ready! It was the most amazing feeling to step into the group fitness studio and have the members welcome me back! They seemed equally excited to have me back! Most of them were shocked that I had come back so fast! I did have to modify some movements and do more coaching but I felt complete again teaching, motivating and inspiring others again! Since then, I have added several more classes to my schedule and am now full time again after 5 months of medical leave! I am teaching new formats and piloting a brand new group fitness format for Lifetime! I have also decided to become a certified personal trainer through Lifetime Academy so I can further help and motivate other people to achieve their goals! One of my biggest accomplishments was running with my children in their school family fun run! It felt great to run side by side with them and they all said “Mommy you are running again!”

This could have been a devastating injury but with hard work, determination and an amazing team at TCO, I have been able to comeback!! I have a very positive outlook on my future. I don’t think my ankle or thumb will hold me back from anything I want to accomplish!! I am so thankful for my amazing team at TCO for giving the opportunity to be active again and live my life fully!

I won a trip for two to southeast Asia at my company’s holiday party. Finally experiencing Thailand, my bucket list destination for years. My childhood friend was my companion, planning most of the trip for us as I dealt with my husband’s unpredictably extraordinary health challenge, tying two jobs together to make our mortgage payment, and playing both Mom and Dad as our oldest navigated the college application process and scholarships to cover AP test scores. Stress mounted.

Meeting Lori in Seattle for a free-spirited adventure; after a 30-minute monologue, skimming the surface of all drama and challenge at home, we agreed to be present on our adventure of a lifetime and leave home at home.

On our last day, after riding the scooter caboose in Vietnam, touring temples in Siem Reap, and wandering the flower markets in Bangkok, I left for a two-day hike compressed into one day with a monk tour guide and a tourist from London sporting six-pack abs. Long before seeing the first hike highlight, I was amazed. The beauty of all the greens, the sound of the waterfalls, and the simple and yet so complex insight from our guide blew me away. Eventually, we stopped for lunch. Our pad thai to-go, wrapped in banana leaves, was set upon a place mat cut from the banana tree where the fresh bananas fell and a watermelon, pulled from our guide’s backpack, was cut. Waterfalls were the backdrop. Unbelievable.

Leaving there, the hike continued to amaze – we stopped to smell fresh tamarind and wild ginger and then we rounded a curve, 3 hours in to an 8 hour hike, where the path meandered into a vine covered jungle like I imagined in National Geographic.

Remembering Lori, who chose to stay back to meet a monk, while I was in the jungle on my own private tour, I felt compelled to video my path into this overgrown amazement. 11 seconds of video, included my fall, which is the beginning of my continuing Comeback Story.

My guide scurried into the jungle, returning with a bamboo stick for a crutch, and then encouraged me to a river of ice cold water to soak my ankle for 30 minutes before returning to the trail.

Had I had fewer than three years of daily meditation under my belt, I wonder how I would have gotten out of the jungle. Each step, following the loud pop and searing heat and pain, I summoned my inner mojo to figure out how to quickly get off my right foot and back to my left. No even footing at all as we continued to climb to the village which was the destination. We clearly weren’t calling in an airlift; oh wait, no cell service and no roads and no people.

We reached the village. Unbelievable and amazing. Completely worth it. Our descent to our transportation was unbelievable as the decline left little room for error and our guide managed his pace with the sun, hoping, I believe, we would get to the road in time. I went step by step, my chatter and enthusiasm ended.

Quick summary:
Fell on November 7 in a jungle in Thailand
Hiked with a bamboo stick for 4 hours to get to transportation

Put foot on tray table in airplane from Chiang Mai to Taipei
Limped to eat dumplings in Taipei
Foot back on tray table from Taipei to Seattle
Wheelchair to curb where my brother met me with crutches
Overnight in Seattle
Crutches to Minneapolis
My children pick me up in Minneapolis and bring me to ER on November 11
ER says x-ray inconclusive and I am given a gel cast (I declined “the boot” for fear of my back going out)
ER recommends if I am not better, see an orthopedic
December 22 (yes gel brace and limping for 7 weeks), my amazing boss wonders how she can help me
“I want to go dog sledding but I want to know if I’ll mess up my ankle more”
“You can get an MRI as a walk-in”
Oh boy. Lucky me an ankle surgeon was in the TCO Urgent Care and ordered an MRI on Christmas Eve.
December 26, Dr. Brad Moser asked, “Doesn’t it hurt? You need surgery and Dr. Coetzee has taken your case.”

January 9 I meet, and fall in love, with Dr. Coetzee. He watches my video of my fall in the jungle in Thailand, offers me an option, approves me getting a pedicure (7 weeks of jungle in my toes), and instills confidence and kindness that still brings tears to my eyes.
January 11 surgery. Leave with an amazing cast!

11 days later, the cast comes off and I have an unbelievable nerve response.
Recovery. Is. Slow. And. It. Keeps. Snowing. And. It’s. Really. Cold. Schools. Keep. Closing. Longest. Winter. Ever.
Eventually. PT at Eden Prairie TCO – Meredith and Jake are amazing!

April 11, I was able to venture on a work trip to Dallas without my knee scooter or boot and even took a spin two-stepping.

April 27, I walked 5 miles (not all at once), and I am on my Comeback!

I spotted the advertisement for the Comeback deadline and had high hopes I would be doing something amazing by May 3 – almost 6 months after my fall – but it’s amazing that I find it amazing that I can stand on one leg and walk up and down the stairs.

It’s a journey.

Thank you TCO!