The Team

This was not a solo effort. I had the benefit of my team and Dr. Mont’s team--both very strong. My wife is the heart of my team. Whether urging me on, planning, arranging insurance, supporting the pre-op physical program, or taking care of things in the middle of the night in the hospital room--she has been a tireless and devoted companion.

The rest of my team included a world renowned chiropractor, Dr. John Bandy; one of the best fitness specialists and trainers in the nation, Michael (Beto) Boggiano; a truly great deep tissue massage therapist, Charlotte Sparks, and a wonderful physical therapist Eddie Almovodar.

The 18 months leading up to the surgery was treated like training for an Olympic event. I was ready!

Dr. Mont’s team was super right from the beginning with Pat Stefan bringing me in, making me feel welcome and helping me understand who everyone else on the team was. The surgical nurses, the hospital nurses and their assistants, and the follow up nurses were all great. The anesthesiologist and assisting doctors were excellent. And the PTs in the hospital did amazing work.

And even now, three weeks post op, I am totally supported. Dr. Mont calls and checks on me. His nurses Sandy and Diane take care of everything in a timely manner. I never have a question or issue that isn’t handled completely and immediately. Teams are my business and this team is world class.

This clip is from right after finally returning home.

Since I flew in to Baltimore from Austin, TX, I was fortunate that my mother lives an hour and a half from the hospital. I went there for a week before getting on an airplane and I’m glad I did.

At 12 days I was totally ready to fly and all went well. Nevertheless, getting home and getting in your own bed is big thing!

You get knocked way down by the surgery and the drugs, but you come back up surprisingly quickly. Even so, for quite a few weeks, stamina and brain power are in short supply, so the comforts of home and a relaxed schedule were very much appreciated.

Though I never really had what I would call bad pain, and I took the pain killers so I felt like moving and doing my PT twice a day--I started forgetting to take them around 2 weeks post op. So I figured I’d stop and that’s been fine.

I’ve been working with the same PT, Eddie, who worked with me pre-op. He’s very experienced, measured and gentle. There’s progress every day. He took this video clip for Dr. Mont to see how the leg function and gate looked after week 3.

Hope I’m doing it right!

Pool Training

We are at week 4.5 post op, having a PT session in the pool.

This is the start of the second 5 weeks of physical therapy, during which the focus is on range of motion, strength, and normalizing gait.

Published research indicates that unlike total hip replacements, resurfaced patients are able to regain a completely normal gait which is indistinguishable from a normal person.

Eddie Almovodar at Pure Austin Fitness has been doing an outstanding job and now he is getting regular direction from Anil Bhave, the head of Physical Therapy at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore and also Professor of Physical Therapy at Johns Hopkins.

I am doing 3 sessions per week with Eddie and usually 2 per day on my own. Every day there are noticeable differences which is very gratifying.

This is a short video clip taken at Sinai Hospital during my 5 week checkup with Dr. Mont. Prior to entering this room, I had stuck with his 50% weight bearing restriction and literally had not walked without the crutches. So you are seeing the first steps and you are hearing the magic words “all restrictions lifted” at the very end.

And here’s a shot of the x-ray up on the wall. It looks so fine compared to the gnarly bare bone on bone situation it replaced.

I wanted to take a moment and thank Dr. Mont: His attention to detail and intense focus on getting a perfect outcome every time is the mark of a true professional who is leading and developing the field.

It is my opinion that he has a great deal to be proud of and he earns every dime he gets! I can see that what he does is a monstrous amount of work!

Thanks for the great results.