In 2012 I came to HSS in need of a revision for a total hip replacement done two years earlier at another hospital. I was so pleased with both Dr. Alejandro Gonzalez Della Valle and HSS that I came back in December 2014 to have my other hip replaced. The staff at HSS is remarkable and everyone seems so happy working there.
15 weeks after my surgery I was called to fight an out of control fire on Fire Island, NY where I had just began to start working again. I'm a landscaper so you know how hard that can be on a body. There were only three of us firefighters in town that night. With an apartment building fully involved and moderate winds blowing several nearby homes and a hotel caught fire from the radiant heat. I had to make a decision as I knew there were winter residents in nearby homes. Knowing I shouldn't run on a new hip I chose to jog perilously close to the fire instead of safely going around two blocks figuring that would take too much time. Not yet in firefighter turnout gear, I received deep 2nd degree burns to my hand while shielding my face from the intense heat. As nearby people were already out of their homes I set a hydrant and pulled hose and did my best to contain the out of control fire. At least 35 minutes later the first help arrived. All in all, 23 fire departments from Fire Island and mainland Long Island came to stop the fire.
When I arrived back on Fire Island from the Burn Center, the first question someone asked me was "how is your new hip?". I realized I hadn't thought about my hip at all while fire fighting. It was less than 4 months after surgery! Surgery and Physical Therapy at HSS had prepared my body to be ready for this devastating fire. Kudos to the entire HSS team, job well done, once again.
All by Physician