A lifelong golfer and tennis player, Linda started having stabbing pain in her knees 10 years ago. She underwent arthroscopic surgery, but her doctor told her that someday she would need both knees replaced.
That “someday” came when she was snowshoeing with her daughter and her grandchildren. Her knees were so painful that she fell and could not get up. “The pain was excruciating, but I couldn’t give up doing things with my family,” says Linda.
When she got home, she talked to a friend who had knee replacement surgery. He told her to see Dr. Thomas Thornhill, Chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
She did, and that is when Linda knew she had made the right decision. Looking at X-rays of both knees, Dr. Thornhill told Linda, “You have no cartilage in your right knee – bone is rubbing against bone, causing your pain. Your other knee is almost as bad. But your bones are straight, you’re healthy and your attitude is great. You can replace both knees at the same time.”
But what really convinced Linda to have her knees replaced was the confidence of her doctors and nurses. “Dr. Thornhill exudes confidence,” she says. “He knew exactly what to do and I knew I would be fine.”
Today, Linda’s “new knees” are pain-free – she’s playing golf, riding bikes, teaching and acting in her local community theater productions.
