I had been told that the arthritis in my right hip was probably the result of having one leg shorter than the other my whole life. In 2013, my husband and I welcomed our first grandchild, Lily, and I quickly bonded with her by taking care of her one day a week in Brooklyn. When she turned two, we kept her for overnights on Long Island so my son and his wife could have "date night." As you can imagine, caring for a toddler didn't help my hip situation. I found myself dreaming about taking Lily to Disney World someday — but seeing myself in a motorized wheelchair!
Immediately I invited five women in my community that had hip replacement surgery to my home for coffee. Every one of them had chosen the Hospital for Special Surgery. They raved about their doctors, the care and the fantastic way they felt. I arranged for a consultation the next day.
From the moment I met Dr. Allan E. Inglis, Jr., to the moment I walked out of the hospital a new woman, my entire total hip replacement journey has been a blessing. He was not only positive, calm and reassuring, but he approved me for the anterior approach which would not only fix the leg length issue and my hip rotation, but the recovery time would be minimal — and painless!
When I awoke in the Recovery Room, they had me walking from bed to bed almost immediately. The following day I walked the hospital halls and did stairs. The food was delicious, my view of the East River amazing, and Dr. Inglis' visits so encouraging.
I was home in two days, climbed 16 stairs to sleep soundly in my own bed and greeted family and friends at the door!
The attached pictures of Lily and me were taken on Mother's Day 2015 — I was "back in the game" with my precious granddaughter just a month after surgery!
Melissa Barasch