Getting Back to Life
“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to take care of my little girl.”
Such were the fears of John Krug, after a year on disability with severe pain in both hips. Without the ability to even stand without crutches or a cane, John couldn’t work, much less participate in those activities he loved the most, caring for his then eight-year-old child, playing basketball in his church league, or jogging. John underwent bilateral (both sides) core decompression, a drilling procedure to increase blood flow in the bone of his hips.
Finding no relief, John changed orthopaedic surgeons and found his way to Richard Ennis, M.D. of the Memphis Orthopaedic Group, who immediately identified advanced deterioration in both of John’s hips.They would have to be replaced with artificial total hip devices.
Because of his young age, John was only 35 at the time, Dr. Ennis was at first reluctant to perform the procedure. However, John proved persuasive,citing his pain. “When I said that I was ready to cut the hips out myself, that’s when Dr. Ennis said I was ready!” John recalls. In December of 1995, John had his right hip replaced, followed by his left hip in January of 1996.
Though he admits the physical therapy was grueling, the actual hip pain wasgone almost instantly. “Every day, I say thank you God and Dr. Ennis,” John says. “It was like a miracle. The pain was gone. It was the greatest thing to ever happen.”
John went back to work and supported his family. He couldn’t return to jogging and turned to biking in its place. Most importantly, John was able to enjoy the childhood of his daughter, a relationship that extends into the present. “I’m working with my daughter this afternoon in her garden,” he says.
|