My Journey with Joint Replacement Surgeries

Photo by JAFAR AHMED on Unsplash

I’m a boomer. That isn’t necessarily why I had to have two joints fully replaced with metal parts: one knee, opposite hip. When I was 23 and a pregnant passenger in my brother’s car, we were rear-ended by a drinking driver in a truck. This was 1976 and anyone who remembers cars in that time period knows they don’t look and act like today’s upgraded versions. We had lap seatbelts that we chose to wear, or not. It was not a law, yet. We had front seats that you could actually seat three adults, providing they were of a ‘normal’ size. Speed limits were generally higher.

We were stopped at the bottom of a hill to make a left hand turn when the truck hit us. The impact was so hard that I flew forward (no air bags and don’t remember if I had my seat belt on, or not, as I was six months along). The impact broke the seat off its hinges. The front seat was like a couch, so there was no console. I obtained a severe neck whiplash injury. My right leg got temporarily pinned between the seat and the door, twisting my knee.

When you are pregnant you experience an increase in a hormone called Relaxin. It loosens and relaxes your muscles, joints and ligaments during the pregnancy to help your body stretch as pregnancy progresses and to help aid in labor. (I didn’t lose my baby, and she is 49 years old.) After delivery, Relaxin decreases and, in my case, things…