Elizabeth Gendron

I came to HSS and Dr. Elizabeth Cody pretty much at the end of my rope. I had been to various doctors and been diagnosed with bone on bone arthritis, nonunion fractures in my talus and avascular necrosis. I'd been in custom braces, and been told fusion was my only option and that may not work. I was in pain 24/7. I'd had this pain before, prior to having a hip replacement. It is a deep, awful bone pain and nothing relieves it. Dr. Cody came up with a pretty bold plan, and my husband and I decided this was indeed, as she said she thought, my best option for some function and at the least, less pain. She said we could not only replace the ankle, but replace the entire talus. As we got closer to my surgery date, she called one evening and said that the 3D printing company that was making my talus could actually make it porous on the side that met the calcaneus. She wanted to do that and fuse the subtalar joint, letting the calcaneus grow into the prosthetic bone. She felt this would give everything more stability and keep the talus from shifting backwards and failing. I agreed that this made sense. Just prior to surgery at my pre-op appointment, she told me that she may want to also fuse the first metatarsal joint in my foot, because I have flat feet, because this would improve the structure of my foot to support the prosthetics. On the day of surgery I had great care, was made very comfortable and felt confident I was in the right hands. The surgery went well and Dr. Cody said that my talus came out in pieces and my bones had been sinking into it - I really, really had to have this surgery. She has been caring, and available when I have had questions or concerns. I am just past 3 months post-op and am doing so well. My scars are almost non-existent - my husband calls Dr. Cody an artist. I am walking and have been given the OK to start going for short walks to rebuild strength. I have a ways to go in my recovery - letting joints fuse takes a while--but am thrilled with my results. I feel like I have been given my life back. Constant, deep pain weighs you down, and I literally feel lighter. I cannot wait for the day that I can go for a long walk with my dogs, with out any pain! Thank you to HSS. The staff have all been amazing and I have felt cared for 100%, and all of this during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is impressive and I thank Dr. Cody and the whole team.