Joe Grammatico

All my life I have been athletically active in sports. During my mid 40's I started doing endurance sports primarily running and biking. I completed 8 NYC Marathons and over 30 half marathons. Endurance sports became a big part of my life. But as I approached the age of 60 the arthritis in my hips began to limit what I loved to do. Every doctor in my region told me that my running days were over and I would need total hip replacement. I could not accept this diagnosis and began searching for something alternative that would keep me jogging. Using the Internet I found a hip resurfacing site and found out that there could be another option besides total hip replacement. But to do hip resurfacing I had to find a doctor trained in the procedure who was willing to resurface my hip. After research I found out that I was only 1 hour away from one of the best hip doctors in the U.S. (I believe in the world) named Dr. Su.

In May 2012 I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Su and decided to have my right hip resurfaced. This decision was easy to make because Dr. Su had such confidence that this procedure was right for me that I was very anxious to have the surgery done in June 2012. Immediately after surgery all my pain was gone and I was able to bike 3 months post op and begin jogging 6 months post op.

At 9 months I felt so good that I decided to enter my first sprint triathlon and completed it in August 2013.

I had my left hip resurfaced in May 2014 and 10 months after surgery at 64 years young I have jogged up to 5 miles, biked over 50 miles and swim 1.5 miles. Dr. Su and the HSS have given me back my life of endurance sports. HSS is the only hospital I will ever use for any orthopedic problem I encounter. Whenever anyone I know has a sports injury I always recommend HSS to them. Why? Because Dr. Su and HSS got me back in the game.

UPDATE: On July 10, 2016 I completed the Ironman Vineman 70.3 in Sonoma, California. All my athletic life I was fascinated by the one day endurance event known as the Ironman. I had dreams of doing it but everything got sidelined once my hips were diagnosed with arthritis causing bone on bone pain. I had participated and completed 8 NYC Marathons and over 30 half marathons before the diagnosis. Every doctor I saw wanted to do a total hip replacement which meant no more jogging.

Finally I found Dr. Su who gave me another option call hip re-surfacing which gave me an opportunity to continue jogging. As I stated, I learned how to swim and proceeded to do my first sprint triathlon at age 62. At age 65 I decided to do something I always dreamed of doing know as an Ironman race. I completed the half distance Ironman which consist of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and 13.1 mile run on July 10, 2016. To make the day even better was the opportunity to complete the event with my children. A memory I will never forget and It would never have been possible if I had not found Dr. Su and the staff at HSS. I am back in the game and look forward to staying active.