A Joint Replacement Years in the Making: Mick Bennett’s Story
September 20, 2021
“It was my fault I waited that long. You know, I should’ve got it done years ago. Had I known the surgery would go this well, I would’ve done it sooner.”
That’s a familiar sentiment of many our patients who are faced with joint pain. Mick Bennett, a Beacon joint replacement patient, is in good company with that statement. As a long-time sufferer of knee pain, Mick knew for years that he needed to see an orthopedic specialist. Even his son’s high school friend, who has since become an orthopedist, reminded him of it on the daily.
“Every time he saw me, he’d ask ‘when are we going to take care of that?’ And I’d tell him when I retire. So, when I retired, he said ‘ok, let’s get it done,’” recalls Mick.
Taking the First Step
That’s when his story came to a turning point. Making the first appointment, took him from being a longtime joint pain sufferer to getting back on the road to recovery and wellness.
“I had a bad right knee for years. However, I didn’t want to take time off of work to get it taken care of, which was stupid because I had a lot of buildup. And that was my fault. I just didn’t pursue it,” Mick reflects.
For him, the initial plan of attack was to try the minimally invasive route, which revealed two things. The first was that his knee pain could be significantly helped with an injection. Now, seven months out, he says it’s still at 95%. However, the second thing that he learned was that years of adjusting his gait to accommodate his knee pain had taken a toll on one of his hips. The shot did little to lessen that pain. The next step would be a hip replacement, and that’s when he was introduced to Beacon’s Dr. Matthew Johansen.
“The doctor I was seeing told me he refers people to Johansen, and that he’d never heard a complaint on him. I told him you’re the doctor, so that’s my man,” Mick remembers. “My surgery was at 9 a.m., and by 1 p.m., I was home moving around with a walker. My son was with me, and he told me I was already walking better than before the surgery.”
From there, Mick began his physical therapy and rehabilitating his hip. In all transparency, if we described his experience, you’d think we were making it up. We’ll just share it from there the best way we know how. In Mick’s words.
“Maybe I’m just the luckiest person in the world. I feel like I am.”
“My pain is gone now. I tell people that Dr. Johansen is the guy you’ve got to go to if you have a problem like mine. I’ll tell anybody about him. He was great. He was fabulous. I have all of the faith in the world in him. I couldn’t brag on him more,” shares Mick. “Maybe I’m just the luckiest person in the world. I feel like I am, but it just went that well. I’m so pleased with everybody. From the surgery to the therapy with Beacon, I can’t say enough about them. I really can’t.”
Paying it Forward
Mick’s surgery was in May 2021. Now, in September of the same year, he’s paying it forward, “I have a friend who had two knees and two hips replaced. He just had to have another knee replaced. He was using another doctor. I told him to go to Dr. Johansen. I just talked to his wife an hour ago, and she was telling me how well he’s doing after his surgery with Dr. Johansen.”
For anyone else, who’s facing hip replacement surgery, Mick has only this advice, “Have no fears whatsoever. You’re in the best hands in the world with Dr. Johansen, his staff, and the people who do the therapy. I couldn’t be more pleased. I couldn’t speak more glowingly about them.”
And for anyone who’s left wondering about how exactly Mick’s hip is doing, he has this to say, “People ask ‘how’s your hip?’ I say to them if it was any better, it’d be yours. I’m telling you. It’s unbelievable.”
If you have joint pain and need to embark on your own recovery journey, schedule an appointment with our team of knee and hip replacement experts today.
Further Reading
Dr. Chaudhary Explains a Total Hip Replacement
Total Hip Replacement: From Surgery to Recovery
Frequently Asked Questions about Total Hip Replacement