Alethia Mongerie

As we celebrate all things to be thankful for, I am most thankful for my medical team. One of my favorite things to do for my health is run. I have participated in 19 marathons and over 200 other race distances. In 2023 I had the good fortune of getting into the London and Berlin Marathons by lottery. My hips had deteriorated to the point that I had to walk the London Marathon in April 2023 and knew I wouldn't be able to run the Berlin Marathon. I deferred the Berlin Marathon until September 2024 and still couldn't run. I limped through the Berlin 5K. I was really disappointed, but I was on my way to doing everything I needed to do to get hip replacement surgeries.

Several stars lined up for me. I had a friend who had a successful hip replacement by Dr. Austin and was being treated by a Dr. Wenger, a local physician. He prescribed the therapy that would get me prepared for the surgery and I was doing the strength training, but I needed to find the surgeon. My primary doctor insisted that I go to HSS to find a surgeon. I did and by fortune, Dr. Austin had started working there. As it turns out Dr. Austin knew Dr. Wenger very well, stars aligned!

At my consultation he described the procedure and the possible outcomes, which looked hopeful. After my first hip replacement in February 2025, I felt so much stronger and was ready to do the second, which was done in May 2025. Since then, under guidance of my PT, Julia Shinkle, I started with run/walk intervals, then completed a few 5Ks. My dream of running Boston has come true thanks to a very charitable organization, the BGR! Foundation. However, I would not have been able to even entertain the thought had it not been for Dr. Matthew Austin and his amazing team at HSS. Everyone made the experience so comforting for such a major surgery, from the front desk receptionist to the attendant who wheeled me out of the hospital after surgery.

Wilda, Dr. Austin's office manager, is phenomenal. She actually takes time to talk to you, unlike so many others who are too busy. I am even happy with the scar from the surgeries, very neat. The follow-up from HSS was very comforting, checking in on me to make sure I was recovering well. The experience was so good, especially for someone who used to be scared of a needle, I recommend Dr. Matthew Austin to my nephew who needed a knee replacement, which he did, successfully of course. I highly recommend HSS, Dr. Austin, Wilda and all of their team to anyone who needs the care!