Juliet Panebianco

I hobbled into HSS 8 months ago. I was wearing gold platform shoes, but should probably have been in a wheelchair. My surgeon certainly thought I was going to be rolled into his office in one after he looked at my x-rays. I spent 10 years avoiding surgery- used Pilates, yoga, all kinds of supplements, acupuncture, and probably thousands of dollars in pain medication! Everything to stave off the inevitable! I chipped my knee in CBGBs of all places, the punk rock capitol of the world, just before I launched myself into a very remarkable career in the music business, touring the world with rock and roll bands like REM & Beastie Boys.

Every dance step and every step on the unforgiving concrete of arenas were steps too far, leaving me, by last winter, unable to walk to my deli without excruciating pain. And my energy sapped: I was a woman who loved to be busy, travel, socialize, and walk every street of many amazing cities. I felt like I was dragging a dead body behind me tied to both legs. My surgeon, Wai Kwon-Hui, and HSS have changed my life! Only 3 months out of my second knee replacement, and I can feel my energy bursting out of me! I leap out of bed to do my exercises! A few weeks away from losing the crutch I was leaning on and I am already able to walk around my beloved Greenwich Village with hope & happiness, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. OK not so much the last bit, but I can attest I've already been out to concerts dancing, not sitting, again.