Back to Doing What She Loves: Gail's Knee Replacement Story

My name is Gail Ricks, and I'm from Hampton, Virginia. I'm retired and have a husband, two sons, grandkids, and one great-granddaughter. I stay very busy with my family. We play games in the kitchen, and I'm teaching my great-grandbaby how to stir the pot when we make cakes. She's pretty good at it, too, which is awesome.

I love walking. I love cooking, and I love people. So when my knee started giving me problems, it really affected the things I enjoy most.

When I first started having trouble with my knee, I talked to my primary care provider, and he sent me to Riverside Orthopedics. I saw Dr. Wilson, who gave me an injection that was supposed to last around six months. When the pain came back, I went back to see her and was told I could either get another shot or I would probably need surgery at some point. I decided I didn't want to keep prolonging treatment with more injections, so Dr. Wilson recommended that I meet with Dr. Halawi, a total joint surgeon in Smithfield.

When I went to see Dr. Halawi, we had a good conversation. He just talks to you like a real person. He showed me my X-rays and explained that I have arthritis in both knees, but my left knee was already bone-on-bone. He told me to go home and talk with my family before deciding whether to have surgery. Since the pain was bothering me the most when I was getting in and out of the car and when trying to get comfortable enough to sleep at night, I knew I didn't want to wait. We scheduled my left total knee replacement surgery at Riverside Smithfield Hospital for the following week.

Dr. Halawi and the entire care team at Riverside were awesome. Everyone was so compassionate. The way Dr. Halawi explained everything really stood out to me. He told me he would be straight with me. He didn't sugarcoat anything. He told me exactly what he planned to do and exactly what I should expect.

When I had the surgery, I was in and out the same day.

When I got home, I sat down for maybe an hour, and then it was time to exercise. Dr. Halawi gave me two exercises, and I faithfully did them every hour on the hour. Then I started walking. I would walk for up to 20 minutes at a time, wait an hour, and get up and do it again.

Dr. Halawi called me at home that first night, to see how I was doing. He talked with me and my son and told him, "Let her walk as much as she wants to."

I followed his instructions and kept doing the work. Two weeks after surgery, I went back for my follow-up appointment. Dr. Halawi examined my knee, asked to see me walk and told me my progress was awesome. He said I didn't need rehab, so I just continued faithfully doing the exercises he gave me.

Three weeks after surgery, I was outside mowing the grass, both the front and back yard, and I've been going ever since. Now I'm back to walking every morning for an hour.

Today, I'm cooking in the kitchen, spending time outside doing yard work, walking and just enjoying life. And I'm telling everybody about Dr. Halawi at Riverside.

If you're having knee problems and living with pain, don't hesitate. Don't wait. Make an appointment with Dr. Halawi. You'll have to do the work and follow whatever they tell you to do. But if you do the work, you'll come out on the other end the best that you can.