For many years, my wife Sue and I have been planning a safari expedition to Africa. Many of the wild animals are best, and most safely viewed from a vehicle. But we also wanted to visit the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. To do that, it is necessary to hike across fields and into the forest. A tracker leads the way, blazing a path through thick vegetation with a machete. The trail can be steep, very uneven and muddy.. As time passed, the trip kept getting pushed back. We realized we were not getting any younger, and we finalized the plans. All the while, my knees continued their years-long decline due to osteoarthritis. Perhaps caused by all the pavement pounding from my younger days when I did a lot of running. Perhaps there was a genetic component. Who knows? After discussing this on a yearly basis with my family doctor, I turned to Dr. Gallivan in 2015. Taking a conservative approach, we tried a series of injections in each knee. They helped for a while, but it became clear that was not the long term solution, especially with hikes in the African mountain forests in my future. So in 2016, I had both knees replaced. The right one in March and the left one in October. Both surgeries went smoothly. It wasn't a picnic in the park, but everything was very manageable. I was out of the hospital quickly, and the outpatient phyusical therapy started immediately. Dr. Gallivan was an excellent choice for this.. He listens carefully, is focused on achieving the best possible outcome, and stays involved post-operatively. His office staff are all excellent.. There was never a problem.. In February 2017, about one year after the first surgery and four months after the second, I was with Sue in Africa, hiking on fully functioning, pain free knees to visit the mountain gorillas.
