When physical therapist Tammy McHughes greeted her patients while relying on a cane, she couldn’t help but notice the surprised look on their faces. But Tammy was desperate. She needed assistance to keep moving through her agonizing pain.
At age 46, the active mother of two faced arthritis, which had infiltrated Tammy’s knee and hip in her right leg. Tammy went from walking her dog every day, exercising and hiking with her teenage sons to a sedentary lifestyle that required a cane to navigate her daily tasks. Arthritis is a common condition that causes joint inflammation, pain, swelling and stiffness. In Tammy’s case, the pain had become intolerable.
“I was so active, working 50 hours a week, and then got to a point where walking for any length of time was incredibly painful,” Tammy said. “Patients feel uncomfortable when they see their physical therapist needing a cane to get around, but I had no choice.”
For years, Tammy had received injections with St. Joseph’s Health orthopedic surgeon Casey Pierce, MD, and sports medicine specialist David Rodriquez, MD, to help alleviate the pain and improve mobility. But when the injections stopped working, she knew she needed surgery. She went to St. Joseph’s Health to have first her knee, and then her hip replaced.
“The surgeries, three months apart, went perfectly,” Tammy said. “After doing physical therapy, I felt great and had no pain at all.”
Unfortunately, Tammy’s story doesn’t end there. Just when she got her life back, her left knee and hip started hurting and also buckled unexpectedly.
“I was devastated. I had just started going back to the beach, walking my dog, climbing the bleachers to watch my son play sports – and it was like a domino effect going from the right leg to the left,” Tammy said. “But I have a very strong faith, and I knew that the doctors at St. Joseph’s got me through the first two surgeries and would do it again.”
About a year after her right knee surgery, Tammy had her left knee replaced. Three months later, it was her left hip. Once again, Tammy came through both surgeries with minimal pain and a solid recovery.
“Even though Tammy is young for this type of surgery, her quality of life was so impacted that we knew without joint replacement, she would continue to become less and less mobile,” Dr. Pierce explained. “We tailored her care to address her individual needs, like we do with all our patients, and her procedures and recoveries went very well.”
Tammy attributes living “a pain free” life and her recent hike in Yellowstone National Park to the physicians, physical and occupational therapists, and staff at St. Joseph’s Health.
“Everyone was so encouraging and compassionate through every step of this journey,” Tammy said. “They are so skilled at their jobs, and at the same time treat you as an individual person with feelings and goals.”
