Rodney found himself in almost constant pain whenever he tried to walk. It made getting around very difficult and he found himself doing less and less. Rod, who had always been very active in several sports, including softball, tennis, golf, racquetball and running, had slowly given up all of them. He had just found out that participating was impossible. In hopes of addressing the pain, he scheduled a visit with a chiropractor. At the visit, the chiropractor took X-rays and told Rodney that the cartilage that cushions the hip joint had completely worn away. That discussion was what led Rodney to Bronson Orthopedic Specialists and Dr. Dabrowski. “When he came to see us, Rodney wasn’t doing so well, shared Dr. Dabrowski. “He had intense pain and
was unable to participate in most activities. He wanted the ability to lead a more active life once again.” While there may be options that don’t include surgery, such as medications, injections for inflammation and physical therapy, in Rodney’s case his symptoms were serious enough that he chose hip replacement.

The plan was to start with the worst hip and then follow up with the second hip. Using the anterior approach to hip replacement, making an incision at the front of the hip, allows the surgeon to work around the muscles instead of cutting through them. This means less muscle damage, a quicker recovery and fewer restrictions after the surgery. Bronson has a team approach when it comes to hip replacement surgery. The patient is supported by both a nurse navigator and a team of nurses both before and after the surgery. In addition, hospital coordinators make sure that the patient has received all the necessary information leading up to the surgery as well as ensuring that the caregiving team at home has everything they will need as part
of the post-operative recovery. Even so, recovery and rehabilitation vary by the person and, as there is a desire to make sure patients have fully recovered between surgeries, timing between surgeries is on a case-by-case basis. In Rodney’s case, the first hip surgery took place in January 2024, followed by the second in May.

Rodney and his wife Shirley were fully committed to following the post-operative instructions including the exercises. “Our house is laid out so we can walk in a circle,” shared Rodney. “That came in handy for my recovery.” He was able to get plenty of walking in. “My new, good hip was all onboard with the exercise, while my bad hip just kept complaining,” he recalled with a laugh. Both he and Shirley recall thinking they were fully prepared for life after surgery. In reality, they just had to take it day by day. “We came up with solutions,” Shirley shared. “We learned how to improvise to get things done.” It was two months before Rodney could get into bed, so he took to sleeping in the recliner in the meantime. “Everybody will need to find their own solutions,” she shared.

It took a good three months before he was able to start to return to some of the activities he enjoyed. Now, he rates his legs and hips at a hundred percent. “At 87, I’m slowing down, but my legs and hips are not an issue,” said Rodney. He’s back to dancing with his wife once or twice a week, taking day trips, going to car shows, playing shuffleboard and is very actively partaking in his landscaping projects. In fact, building brick walls. He feels fortunate that he no longer must sit around all the time. “You just don’t understand what you’re giving up little by little, until it’s gone.” Dr. Dabrowski added that one of the best parts of his profession is seeing people get back to what they want to do. To hear that he’s back to enjoying the activities he likes to do is a
really rewarding. “I am so glad that we are back to living now,” shared Shirley. “We can extend the fun we have in life. We are blessed to be living in this time, with today’s technology.”