Ralph Carlucci

I lived with the pain down my leg for nearly two years. Slowly, I allowed it to rob me of day to day activities. At the age of 53, I was convincing myself that these were things I just had to get used to and I am grateful that my wife wouldn't allow me to accept that. She insisted that I see an orthopedist who suggested a surgical evaluation. From the very first appointment with Dr. Salvati, I knew that I had made the right choice; not only to consider total right hip replacement, but to have it done at Hospital for Special Surgery.

I can’t say enough about Dr. Salvati, his staff and everyone with whom I came in contact prior to, during my hospital stay, and after my release. Their attention to every detail allowed me to focus on nothing other than my own rehabilitation and that has proven to be truly life changing. Prior to the surgery, I was at a point where I could barely walk from my office to my car without fatigue brought about by the pain. I had long since stopped any kind of exercise routine, which I once followed regularly, and I felt the effects of that in everything I did. I also didn’t fully appreciate the effects of sleep loss, directly related to the pain, on my ability to focus at work and elsewhere. Following the surgery, all of that started to change. Discharged from the hospital after three days, in-home rehabilitation went amazingly well. Sleeping improved almost immediately and in less than 3 weeks, delayed due to snowy weather, I progressed from walking in-doors to walking out-doors building strength and endurance. Once I returned to a regular exercise routine, including the use of an elliptical machine, I felt as though I had gotten the life I used to know back again.

Being able, through exercise, to sustain the energy I need to fulfill the obligations of a challenging career, work in my own yard and keep up with my grandchildren, are the things that I was losing and have been able to regain. For that, I am extremely grateful. I can hardly believe that I am writing this less than five months after surgery. There are times when I have to remind myself that I have a new hip. We just got back from a family vacation to Disneyland where walking all day with our grandchildren was the norm and I had no trouble doing it. That simply wasn’t possible 5 months ago. I don’t know if my story will inspire anyone to contact you for more information, but if there is a chance that it might, I hope you will share it.