First Person: My multiple-joint replacement journey at ValleyOrtho

Hiking up to Franz Josef Glacier on the South Island of New Zealand earlier this summer, I was in awe. The magnificence of the massive mountain of ice before me was breathtaking. I was also in awe of my body's ability to tackle the adventure just six weeks after a total hip replacement with Dr. Christopher George at ValleyOrtho.

But having been down the total joint replacement road before – if life were a baseball game, I'd be batting nearly 1,000 with four joint replacements in just over five years – I know the sky's the limit when it comes to what you can do when the pain is gone and your mobility is back. Thanks to psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and a marker for lupus, it felt like my joints were being rapidly eaten away. I had both hips replaced by Dr. George, one knee with Dr. Tomas Pevny and the other by another orthopedic surgeon. And yet, over the course of my orthopedic journey, I've skied double blacks, hiked to Crested Butte, taken up pickleball, traveled around the globe ... pretty much everything I want to do!

I credit many things for these amazing outcomes -- my overall health and age, a positive attitude and, most important, the team of Valley View doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, physical therapists and others who supported me through surgery, recovery and rehab. I believe hospitals like Valley View not only ensure locals and visitors remain safe and healthy, but also provide a deep network of support that is a cornerstone of our community.

While my first hip and knee surgeries were inpatient, meaning they took place inside the hospital, including Valley View, with an overnight stay, my second two surgeries were outpatient — one in the Valley View outpatient center and one at Valley View’s Surgery Center in Basalt. But the experience was much the same. Valley View is state-of-the-art, making it incredibly convenient to have all services under one roof. It is also warm and welcoming, which helps calm those pre-surgery jitters. And the people -- they are what made my experiences at Valley View stand out, as everyone I encountered encouraged me to dream big for what life would look like with a new hip or a new knee. And that's just what I did ... and plan to keep doing!