Cynthia’s Discovery

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ContributorCynthia, 69Read Full Bio

Biography

Cynthia, 69, is a newly retired grandmother. She went from having a very active lifestyle to a more sedentary one due to her job and a return to school to get a Master’s degree. After a fall, which made walking hard her surgeon recommended that she have both of her knees replaced—which she had been putting off for years. She had both knees replaced over the course of three months.

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ContributorCynthia, 69Read Full Bio

Biography

Cynthia, 69, is a newly retired grandmother. She went from having a very active lifestyle to a more sedentary one due to her job and a return to school to get a Master’s degree. After a fall, which made walking hard her surgeon recommended that she have both of her knees replaced—which she had been putting off for years. She had both knees replaced over the course of three months.

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Cynthia, 69, is a newly retired grandmother. She went from having a very active lifestyle to a more sedentary one due to her job and a return to school to get a Master’s degree. After a fall, which made walking hard her surgeon recommended that she have both of her knees replaced—which she had been putting off for years. She had both knees replaced over the course of three months.

CYNTHIA: My name is Cynthia. I'm, I hate to admit it, 69 years old. I don't feel it. Sometimes my joints do however.

CYNTHIA: I am married now. I have two grown sons and I have two granddaughters. And I am newly retired. It wasn't by choice but by necessity.

CYNTHIA: A little over a year ago my manager where I worked decided he would do away with my position.

CYNTHIA: And it was interesting because I had been thinking about retiring for like six months. So I said, "Maybe it's a blessing in disguise." You know, I'm just gonna go for it.

CYNTHIA: I have three degrees. I have a bachelor's, a master's in history and a master's in library and information science.

CYNTHIA: I had been a very active adult. I had done Polynesian dancing. And that does take a little bit of pressure on the knees you might say. 'Cause your knees are constantly bent as you're dancing. And I used to ride a bicycle. I became quite sedentary when I went back to school. And unfortunately when you're sitting studying and then you have a day job where you're at your desk, it's not the best scenario for orthopedic health you might say.

CYNTHIA: In 2004 I had a slip and fall at a hospital in the parking structure. And I was really, really i-I mean it hurt terribly. A doctor gave me injections and said, "You're too young to have any knee surgery. I don't want you to have to go through that now."

CYNTHIA: I got to the point where I knew I had to have a knee replacement because I had so much pain. It was even hard to sleep at night. No matter what position I was in, I could feel the bones kind of like rubbing against each other. And then of course just to walk was getting to be problematic.

CYNTHIA: With my surgeon I tried to minimize it. I guess I did not wanna face the fact that it was gonna be major surgery. But any time you cut into the bone and you start replacing parts, it is pretty major.

CYNTHIA: As far as what he was going to be doing during the replacement, I wasn't even concerned about that because I trusted him and I knew that I did have a few issues going into the surgery that were probably not the best for a successful result.

CYNTHIA: I have had high blood pressure. But it's been under control. I have had a weight problem for years and years and years. My surgeon felt like he could work around those issues.

CYNTHIA: We had the first knee done seven months ago. And then the second one six months after that. Almost to the day actually.

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