Patient Testimonials
A best-in-class team of orthopedic and sports medicine specialists. Nationally recognized care that’s available locally. Services and procedures you won’t find anywhere else in the region. Together with our Centered On You approach to care, it’s no wonder most people in the area choose us to help them keep playing, keep moving and keep doing whatever it is they love to do.
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Keep going.
Keep working.
Keep climbing.
And always keep playing with the unmatched
orthopedic care at Baptist Health.
With a best-in-class team along with services and
procedures you won't find anywhere else in the region,
it's no wonder most people choose us to help them
keep moving and doing the things that move them.
Find a Baptist Health provider today.
Keep working.
Keep climbing.
And always keep playing with the unmatched
orthopedic care at Baptist Health.
With a best-in-class team along with services and
procedures you won't find anywhere else in the region,
it's no wonder most people choose us to help them
keep moving and doing the things that move them.
Find a Baptist Health provider today.
Orthopedic Patient Stories

JoAnn's Patient Story
JoAnn Bower discusses her shoulder surgery with Dr. Kristopher Abeln, Orthopedic Surgeon at Baptist Health Floyd.
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- [JoAnn] Jim and I have met in high school,
so we're, you know, high school sweethearts.
We have one son, and he has one son, and that's Shane,
our, you know, little joy, and keeps us on our toes.
I have a lot of trouble with arthritis,
and not just in my shoulders
but pretty much everywhere.
I started having pain in my shoulders
probably three to four or five years ago,
and then, it started getting worse.
I had cortisone shots several times.
And that would help for a while but then
eventually, that got where that did nothing.
I had bone-on-bone due to the arthritis,
and so, that was causing really immense pain.
It's unlike pain that I've ever had before.
We learned about a seminar
that Dr. Abeln's office was having.
I wasn't even aware that they
had shoulder replacement surgery.
- [Dr. Abeln] You know, as opposed
to some of our athletic injuries,
arthritis tends to be more insidious.
You know, you kind of notice it gradually over time.
But it can become as debilitating as some
of these acute fractures and other injuries.
She was having trouble with night pain, and moving,
and taking care of things around the house,
and cooking, and just things
she really, really enjoyed.
So losing those things can take a toll emotionally too.
- It was miserable.
And I didn't realize how much it
had affected my personality too.
I've really had kind of felt
like I was becoming worthless
because you weren't able to contribute anything.
- Oddly enough, the ones that really
have the worst shoulders to start with
are often the ones that notice the biggest difference.
Because, you know, a shoulder that was in
a bad shape from a bad soft tissue injury,
or from arthritis where bone was
growing on bone, they are in so much pain
that relieving that from a surgery, even
though it involves an invasive procedure,
they can notice almost instantaneous relief.
And that was the case with JoAnn.
- When I woke up, and I had my left shoulder done
first, and there was no pain from that moment on.
In fact, when I went back for my six weeks
check-up on my left arm, my first question was,
"When can we do this one?"
- [Jim] To be honest, she wasn't much
fun to be around, and then she is now.
I mean, that's one of the great things about
that, she really kind of changed completely.
And almost overnight, after her shoulder surgery.
So, I guess the pain was so much better.
- Our first goal of these types
of surgeries is to relieve pain.
And, joint replacements, whether
it's the hip, the knee, or the shoulder,
are tremendous pain-relieving operations
which is just, in itself, a great benefit.
But, then they get patients moving,
whether it's, you know, out playing golf,
or playing with her grandkids was her...
you know, came with every visit with her.
These are things that keep us happy and, you know,
human beings should move, they should be happy.
We've seen it last year when, you know,
we weren't able to do all these things that
connected us to our family, what that
did to us, you know, as a society.
And, you know, these types of things
that we're able to do with these surgeries,
that's what we're trying to get back, quality of life.
And it's great to be able
to offer that here at Baptist.
- My heart is just overflowing to be able to
do something as simple as playing in the dirt
with my grandson.
That was just amazing.
He goes, "Oh yeah, my ba can do this now.
Her shoulders are fixed."
I would definitely recommend Dr. Abeln's
group, and I have recommended them.
It's life-changing.
If I had to do it again, I wouldn't wait,
and that's what I've told other people.
Don't live in pain, go have something
done, because they can fix you."
I told them, "I'm going to be a
bionic woman by the time I'm done."
♪ [music] ♪
so we're, you know, high school sweethearts.
We have one son, and he has one son, and that's Shane,
our, you know, little joy, and keeps us on our toes.
I have a lot of trouble with arthritis,
and not just in my shoulders
but pretty much everywhere.
I started having pain in my shoulders
probably three to four or five years ago,
and then, it started getting worse.
I had cortisone shots several times.
And that would help for a while but then
eventually, that got where that did nothing.
I had bone-on-bone due to the arthritis,
and so, that was causing really immense pain.
It's unlike pain that I've ever had before.
We learned about a seminar
that Dr. Abeln's office was having.
I wasn't even aware that they
had shoulder replacement surgery.
- [Dr. Abeln] You know, as opposed
to some of our athletic injuries,
arthritis tends to be more insidious.
You know, you kind of notice it gradually over time.
But it can become as debilitating as some
of these acute fractures and other injuries.
She was having trouble with night pain, and moving,
and taking care of things around the house,
and cooking, and just things
she really, really enjoyed.
So losing those things can take a toll emotionally too.
- It was miserable.
And I didn't realize how much it
had affected my personality too.
I've really had kind of felt
like I was becoming worthless
because you weren't able to contribute anything.
- Oddly enough, the ones that really
have the worst shoulders to start with
are often the ones that notice the biggest difference.
Because, you know, a shoulder that was in
a bad shape from a bad soft tissue injury,
or from arthritis where bone was
growing on bone, they are in so much pain
that relieving that from a surgery, even
though it involves an invasive procedure,
they can notice almost instantaneous relief.
And that was the case with JoAnn.
- When I woke up, and I had my left shoulder done
first, and there was no pain from that moment on.
In fact, when I went back for my six weeks
check-up on my left arm, my first question was,
"When can we do this one?"
- [Jim] To be honest, she wasn't much
fun to be around, and then she is now.
I mean, that's one of the great things about
that, she really kind of changed completely.
And almost overnight, after her shoulder surgery.
So, I guess the pain was so much better.
- Our first goal of these types
of surgeries is to relieve pain.
And, joint replacements, whether
it's the hip, the knee, or the shoulder,
are tremendous pain-relieving operations
which is just, in itself, a great benefit.
But, then they get patients moving,
whether it's, you know, out playing golf,
or playing with her grandkids was her...
you know, came with every visit with her.
These are things that keep us happy and, you know,
human beings should move, they should be happy.
We've seen it last year when, you know,
we weren't able to do all these things that
connected us to our family, what that
did to us, you know, as a society.
And, you know, these types of things
that we're able to do with these surgeries,
that's what we're trying to get back, quality of life.
And it's great to be able
to offer that here at Baptist.
- My heart is just overflowing to be able to
do something as simple as playing in the dirt
with my grandson.
That was just amazing.
He goes, "Oh yeah, my ba can do this now.
Her shoulders are fixed."
I would definitely recommend Dr. Abeln's
group, and I have recommended them.
It's life-changing.
If I had to do it again, I wouldn't wait,
and that's what I've told other people.
Don't live in pain, go have something
done, because they can fix you."
I told them, "I'm going to be a
bionic woman by the time I'm done."
♪ [music] ♪

Jordan's Patient Story
Jordan Ferguson discusses his shoulder surgery with Dr. Kristopher Abeln, Orthopedic Surgeon at Baptist Health Floyd.
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♪ [music] ♪
- [Jordan] I've always really played the same
position my entire life just because I've always been
on the small side.
But I feel like it's helped me become a leader,
just showing people that, like, no matter...
Even fourth quarter down by
four touchdowns, anything is possible.
Just keep your head up and keep pushing.
- [Irea] Football's everything to him.
It's in his heart, and it's in his soul.
And his dream is to play football.
So it always has been.
So to even see that maybe possibly
not even be in his reach was hard.
Jordan's struggles with his shoulder began
his junior year, and he was at a football game.
He got hit and injured in that football game.
He didn't tell any of us at first that he was injured
because he wanted to finish the season,
so no one was aware that he had the injury.
- I mean, I really couldn't do anything.
I'd say I probably had, like, 30% range of motion,
and then, like, I would go to sleep.
I would wake up, it would hurt.
I would open my door to get in the shower,
it would hurt.
I wasn't nervous but it was just more something
that I tried to block out for as long as I could.
Kallee's my athlete trainer.
- She's done a lot more than that
for Jordan to be honest with you.
She's really God-sent.
And she is the saving grace that sent us to Dr. Abeln.
- [Kallee] It's the senior season,
and it was really important to him.
He's looking to get some college offers.
So he and I just, kind of, made a deal that,
"Hey, I may pull you out for some practices.
Hey, you know, we're up by 30%,
I'm going to pull you out and not let
you play anymore."
And so once we did that,
we were able to kind of get him through the season.
And then right afterwards,
I talked to his mom and said, "Hey, look,
we got to get him in with Dr. Abeln,"
and she said, "I don't know.
His previous surgery didn't go very well."
And I was like, "Look,
Dr. Abeln did one of my surgeries.
He's great.
I trust him."
- [Dr. Abeln] Yeah, Jordan, unfortunately,
had some issues with some healing of a labrum tear
and there was some questionable debris
in the shoulder that can happen both with an injury,
sometimes after surgeries where you can have loose
pieces of either hardware that's put in or tissues
in the shoulder that haven't healed right.
So we saw both of those, unfortunately.
- And he shows us the MRIs, which blew me away.
You could see bone fragments
that the other doctor had left.
Dr. Abeln was very compassionate.
He was compassionate to the fact that
we were both scared, and he was so comforting.
He talked to us in terms that we could understand.
He didn't talk over our head, which was awesome.
So I left out of there feeling confident.
- Dr. Abeln's great.
I mean, I feel like he was being [inaudible]
and really honest with me about, like,
what would happen if I didn't have the surgery,
what would happen if I have it,
and I feel like that made my decision way easier.
- Dr. Abeln said, "Well,
I can assure you that I'm going to do everything I can
to make sure that you heal right,
that the surgery's done right,
and that you get back to playing football."
And I said, "I know you are because God already
told me you were and I already prayed of you."
And he said, "Thank you."
- Patients come to us with fears but also strengths.
And if your faith is a strength,
they can kind of help you in this.
I want to encourage that, because, you know,
I try and be optimistic and provide, you know,
goals and things that we're going to do well.
But if there's another source of strength whether it's
family or faith, then we have to encourage that.
- Going into surgery,
I didn't know what the outcome would be and I couldn't
be any more happy with the outcome that I've got.
- We got to move as human beings,
and that's key to any recovery.
Whether it's from an arthritis injury
or a sports injury or a fracture injury,
we're designed to move and so we have to
incorporate that within reason to be who we are.
For Jordan, I mean, he had goals to get back on the
field and keep playing and get his shoulder healthy so
that he could do the things he needed to do as an
athlete, stay healthy, and get back in the game,
and keep playing.
- I see my future of me going to college,
playing football, and then I want to become
an athletic trainer.
And then my plan is to go to the NFL.
To see something that you've worked so hard for
actually come true, it's an amazing feeling.
- We've changed our healthcare.
The whole family now is under Baptist Health.
If I have to go to a hospital,
it will be Baptist Health.
The pain is gone.
Like, he has zero pain.
I think Dr. Abeln saved his future.
He saved his future.
♪ [music] ♪
- [Jordan] I've always really played the same
position my entire life just because I've always been
on the small side.
But I feel like it's helped me become a leader,
just showing people that, like, no matter...
Even fourth quarter down by
four touchdowns, anything is possible.
Just keep your head up and keep pushing.
- [Irea] Football's everything to him.
It's in his heart, and it's in his soul.
And his dream is to play football.
So it always has been.
So to even see that maybe possibly
not even be in his reach was hard.
Jordan's struggles with his shoulder began
his junior year, and he was at a football game.
He got hit and injured in that football game.
He didn't tell any of us at first that he was injured
because he wanted to finish the season,
so no one was aware that he had the injury.
- I mean, I really couldn't do anything.
I'd say I probably had, like, 30% range of motion,
and then, like, I would go to sleep.
I would wake up, it would hurt.
I would open my door to get in the shower,
it would hurt.
I wasn't nervous but it was just more something
that I tried to block out for as long as I could.
Kallee's my athlete trainer.
- She's done a lot more than that
for Jordan to be honest with you.
She's really God-sent.
And she is the saving grace that sent us to Dr. Abeln.
- [Kallee] It's the senior season,
and it was really important to him.
He's looking to get some college offers.
So he and I just, kind of, made a deal that,
"Hey, I may pull you out for some practices.
Hey, you know, we're up by 30%,
I'm going to pull you out and not let
you play anymore."
And so once we did that,
we were able to kind of get him through the season.
And then right afterwards,
I talked to his mom and said, "Hey, look,
we got to get him in with Dr. Abeln,"
and she said, "I don't know.
His previous surgery didn't go very well."
And I was like, "Look,
Dr. Abeln did one of my surgeries.
He's great.
I trust him."
- [Dr. Abeln] Yeah, Jordan, unfortunately,
had some issues with some healing of a labrum tear
and there was some questionable debris
in the shoulder that can happen both with an injury,
sometimes after surgeries where you can have loose
pieces of either hardware that's put in or tissues
in the shoulder that haven't healed right.
So we saw both of those, unfortunately.
- And he shows us the MRIs, which blew me away.
You could see bone fragments
that the other doctor had left.
Dr. Abeln was very compassionate.
He was compassionate to the fact that
we were both scared, and he was so comforting.
He talked to us in terms that we could understand.
He didn't talk over our head, which was awesome.
So I left out of there feeling confident.
- Dr. Abeln's great.
I mean, I feel like he was being [inaudible]
and really honest with me about, like,
what would happen if I didn't have the surgery,
what would happen if I have it,
and I feel like that made my decision way easier.
- Dr. Abeln said, "Well,
I can assure you that I'm going to do everything I can
to make sure that you heal right,
that the surgery's done right,
and that you get back to playing football."
And I said, "I know you are because God already
told me you were and I already prayed of you."
And he said, "Thank you."
- Patients come to us with fears but also strengths.
And if your faith is a strength,
they can kind of help you in this.
I want to encourage that, because, you know,
I try and be optimistic and provide, you know,
goals and things that we're going to do well.
But if there's another source of strength whether it's
family or faith, then we have to encourage that.
- Going into surgery,
I didn't know what the outcome would be and I couldn't
be any more happy with the outcome that I've got.
- We got to move as human beings,
and that's key to any recovery.
Whether it's from an arthritis injury
or a sports injury or a fracture injury,
we're designed to move and so we have to
incorporate that within reason to be who we are.
For Jordan, I mean, he had goals to get back on the
field and keep playing and get his shoulder healthy so
that he could do the things he needed to do as an
athlete, stay healthy, and get back in the game,
and keep playing.
- I see my future of me going to college,
playing football, and then I want to become
an athletic trainer.
And then my plan is to go to the NFL.
To see something that you've worked so hard for
actually come true, it's an amazing feeling.
- We've changed our healthcare.
The whole family now is under Baptist Health.
If I have to go to a hospital,
it will be Baptist Health.
The pain is gone.
Like, he has zero pain.
I think Dr. Abeln saved his future.
He saved his future.
♪ [music] ♪

Kim's Patient Story
Baptist Health Corbin Orthopedic patient Kim Swafford discusses her knee surgery and recovery.
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♪ [music] ♪
- [Kim] We all like to go camping.
We started out camping a long time ago
when my girls were little, actually.
And we started like everybody else, in a tent.
I'm very OCD.
And when I leave, I have to make sure that my house is
completely spotless because when I come home,
I want to just unload everything,
put it in the laundry baskets, do it,
and everything's good.
So, that particular day,
we were all actually going to Florida
and I'm always the last to leave.
And I was mopping my floor on the way out
and when I got about halfway through the living room,
my foot just slipped out from underneath me
and it's like my leg went two separate ways.
My husband's like, "Do you want
to go to the emergency room?"
I'm like "No, we're going to Florida.
Everybody get back on the bus."
And so, we all got on the bus and went to Florida.
Not only did I have an old ACL repair,
but it totally ripped my MCL half in two.
Like, so, if I was standing,
my knee would just, just pop out.
And so, it was kind of odd walking on the sand.
Even when I went to my first doctor's appointment,
he said, "How in the world have you been
walking on that?"
So, I called my family physician, made an appointment,
went in to see him, and he was like, "Yeah.
There's probably something going on.
We'll send you to therapy first."
And the first day that I went in,
Ryan, who is the physical therapist,
knew immediately that there was something wrong.
And he said, "I cannot work with you right now
because I'm going to make something worse."
- [Ryan] Once she had received her MRI,
it was confirmed that she had ligament tears in her
knee and she required a surgical intervention.
And one of the most important things is just to make
sure we instruct patients to reduce activities that
would cause more trauma to their knee.
- I don't limit anything very much.
I'm, you know, "All the way, give it all you can."
Go with the gusto, you know?
So, they had to remind me of my limitations with it.
And I'll tell you, it was very scary when I got that
brace off the first time because I could not move my
knee at all.
But when I went to therapy, you know,
and they were like, "It's okay.
You know, this is part of the process.
You know, we're going to get to where we…
We'll get that stretched out for you.
Everything will be good.
You know, you'll be fine."
- A lot of times when we see patients,
they're either in some kind of chronic pain,
they're coming from functional loss.
So, it's so important for us to be compassionate,
encouraging, and good listeners to our patients.
It's important for us to build trust with patients.
- You definitely have to have that trust because if you
were going to fall, you had to make sure there was
someone in front of you that was going to catch you.
And, you know, there were a couple of times
that Ron would have to, you know,
reach out like he was going to grab me.
- One thing with treating patients is a lot of times
they'll have stiffness or they'll have pain,
and they'll be uncertain how to treat their impairment.
With over 20 years of experience,
I've seen a lot of different scenarios,
and the guidance is such an important role with
instructing patients on how to restore their mobility,
to restore their strength, and function
so they can return to the activities they love to do.
- For Baptist to be able to offer those treatments,
those surgeries, the things that you need in this area,
I think is a wonderful thing because a lot of people
don't have the opportunities or the transportation
to get to other places that are an hour,
hour and a half away.
- One of the greatest things about being a physical
therapist is to see improvements in a very short time.
It's so great to see grandparents who had
recent hip replacements or knee surgeries.
It's just a great feeling to be a physical therapist.
- To be able to do things
with my grandkids is very fun.
And if I couldn't do those things,
it just wouldn't be the same.
♪ [music] ♪
- [Kim] We all like to go camping.
We started out camping a long time ago
when my girls were little, actually.
And we started like everybody else, in a tent.
I'm very OCD.
And when I leave, I have to make sure that my house is
completely spotless because when I come home,
I want to just unload everything,
put it in the laundry baskets, do it,
and everything's good.
So, that particular day,
we were all actually going to Florida
and I'm always the last to leave.
And I was mopping my floor on the way out
and when I got about halfway through the living room,
my foot just slipped out from underneath me
and it's like my leg went two separate ways.
My husband's like, "Do you want
to go to the emergency room?"
I'm like "No, we're going to Florida.
Everybody get back on the bus."
And so, we all got on the bus and went to Florida.
Not only did I have an old ACL repair,
but it totally ripped my MCL half in two.
Like, so, if I was standing,
my knee would just, just pop out.
And so, it was kind of odd walking on the sand.
Even when I went to my first doctor's appointment,
he said, "How in the world have you been
walking on that?"
So, I called my family physician, made an appointment,
went in to see him, and he was like, "Yeah.
There's probably something going on.
We'll send you to therapy first."
And the first day that I went in,
Ryan, who is the physical therapist,
knew immediately that there was something wrong.
And he said, "I cannot work with you right now
because I'm going to make something worse."
- [Ryan] Once she had received her MRI,
it was confirmed that she had ligament tears in her
knee and she required a surgical intervention.
And one of the most important things is just to make
sure we instruct patients to reduce activities that
would cause more trauma to their knee.
- I don't limit anything very much.
I'm, you know, "All the way, give it all you can."
Go with the gusto, you know?
So, they had to remind me of my limitations with it.
And I'll tell you, it was very scary when I got that
brace off the first time because I could not move my
knee at all.
But when I went to therapy, you know,
and they were like, "It's okay.
You know, this is part of the process.
You know, we're going to get to where we…
We'll get that stretched out for you.
Everything will be good.
You know, you'll be fine."
- A lot of times when we see patients,
they're either in some kind of chronic pain,
they're coming from functional loss.
So, it's so important for us to be compassionate,
encouraging, and good listeners to our patients.
It's important for us to build trust with patients.
- You definitely have to have that trust because if you
were going to fall, you had to make sure there was
someone in front of you that was going to catch you.
And, you know, there were a couple of times
that Ron would have to, you know,
reach out like he was going to grab me.
- One thing with treating patients is a lot of times
they'll have stiffness or they'll have pain,
and they'll be uncertain how to treat their impairment.
With over 20 years of experience,
I've seen a lot of different scenarios,
and the guidance is such an important role with
instructing patients on how to restore their mobility,
to restore their strength, and function
so they can return to the activities they love to do.
- For Baptist to be able to offer those treatments,
those surgeries, the things that you need in this area,
I think is a wonderful thing because a lot of people
don't have the opportunities or the transportation
to get to other places that are an hour,
hour and a half away.
- One of the greatest things about being a physical
therapist is to see improvements in a very short time.
It's so great to see grandparents who had
recent hip replacements or knee surgeries.
It's just a great feeling to be a physical therapist.
- To be able to do things
with my grandkids is very fun.
And if I couldn't do those things,
it just wouldn't be the same.
♪ [music] ♪

Margaret's Patient Story
Patient Margaret Bingham discusses her hip replacement surgery with orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Thomas Cervoni.
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Transcript
♪ [music] ♪
- [Margaret] I have always walked.
And even in the Navy, I was a jogger.
Walking is something you can do anywhere,
anytime, and has made it easy for me to do that
as my main exercise.
Yeah, a few years ago, I was starting
to notice that my hip would bother me
from time to time, and it wasn't a nuisance
until...during COVID shutting everything down.
Because I was still doing a very good exercise program,
and then, all of the gymnasiums and fitness centers
had to shut down due to COViD.
So, after the restrictions were lifted,
and I went back to the gym,
I wasn't able to do all the exercises I had
been doing just a few months prior to that.
That's when it was starting to really get bad,
and I noticed that my left foot was turning out,
not straight, when I would walk.
And I thought, "Something is not right."
I called my local physician, well,
she's referred me to an orthopedic surgeon
within Baptist Health, and it was Dr. Cervoni.
- [Dr. Cervoni] I think it's very
important to know your patient.
I think, with especially in the field of orthopedic
surgery, where you're treating musculoskeletal injuries
and disorders, things such as what they do,
their career, their hobbies, interests, sports,
they're all very important in determining
the best approach to treatment.
Margaret is a patient of mine who
happens to be a retired Navy veteran.
And when we examined her and looked at her imaging,
she had sort of the end-stage of osteoarthritis
in her hip.
And we talked about different treatments,
and she had tried some that we had recommended
but still without relief.
And ultimately, she wanted to
proceed with total hip replacement.
- And I said, "I'm ready.
Do it."
My recovery, I have to say, I believe
took a shorter time than perhaps the average.
Part of that, I believe,
is because prior to my surgery,
they have an orientation class.
- The patient is central to this.
And so, we have a program at Baptist where,
before the surgery, there's one or two meetings.
And, not just with myself as
her physician, there are specialists,
physical therapists, surgical coordinators,
that meet with Margaret,
and they explain to her what
she's going to be going through.
And so, once she understands that,
she's empowered to do better.
- I'm thankful that my leg is straight,
my foot is straight, I walk normally.
I walk without pain, I go to sleep
without pain, there is no pain.
It's just terrific.
- At Baptist, we have a consistent culture
of doing not just what we're expected to do,
but over and above that, things we can do.
- I can only say good things about all the care,
all the staff, all the interactions I had
throughout at Baptist Health.
- To see patients participate in their care,
and to see her take off after surgery,
and now, she's looking toward fishing,
and the spring is coming,
and all the things she's going to do this year that she
didn't do last year, makes me feel that, as a team,
we've done our job.
- I'm happy to be going strong after 70.
Now, being retired, and now that I'm able to get
around, and my son is living in the same town,
we're going to start fishing together,
and I'm so looking forward to that.
It's good to have a co-fisherman
around that I can go bait a hook with.
♪ [music] ♪
- [Margaret] I have always walked.
And even in the Navy, I was a jogger.
Walking is something you can do anywhere,
anytime, and has made it easy for me to do that
as my main exercise.
Yeah, a few years ago, I was starting
to notice that my hip would bother me
from time to time, and it wasn't a nuisance
until...during COVID shutting everything down.
Because I was still doing a very good exercise program,
and then, all of the gymnasiums and fitness centers
had to shut down due to COViD.
So, after the restrictions were lifted,
and I went back to the gym,
I wasn't able to do all the exercises I had
been doing just a few months prior to that.
That's when it was starting to really get bad,
and I noticed that my left foot was turning out,
not straight, when I would walk.
And I thought, "Something is not right."
I called my local physician, well,
she's referred me to an orthopedic surgeon
within Baptist Health, and it was Dr. Cervoni.
- [Dr. Cervoni] I think it's very
important to know your patient.
I think, with especially in the field of orthopedic
surgery, where you're treating musculoskeletal injuries
and disorders, things such as what they do,
their career, their hobbies, interests, sports,
they're all very important in determining
the best approach to treatment.
Margaret is a patient of mine who
happens to be a retired Navy veteran.
And when we examined her and looked at her imaging,
she had sort of the end-stage of osteoarthritis
in her hip.
And we talked about different treatments,
and she had tried some that we had recommended
but still without relief.
And ultimately, she wanted to
proceed with total hip replacement.
- And I said, "I'm ready.
Do it."
My recovery, I have to say, I believe
took a shorter time than perhaps the average.
Part of that, I believe,
is because prior to my surgery,
they have an orientation class.
- The patient is central to this.
And so, we have a program at Baptist where,
before the surgery, there's one or two meetings.
And, not just with myself as
her physician, there are specialists,
physical therapists, surgical coordinators,
that meet with Margaret,
and they explain to her what
she's going to be going through.
And so, once she understands that,
she's empowered to do better.
- I'm thankful that my leg is straight,
my foot is straight, I walk normally.
I walk without pain, I go to sleep
without pain, there is no pain.
It's just terrific.
- At Baptist, we have a consistent culture
of doing not just what we're expected to do,
but over and above that, things we can do.
- I can only say good things about all the care,
all the staff, all the interactions I had
throughout at Baptist Health.
- To see patients participate in their care,
and to see her take off after surgery,
and now, she's looking toward fishing,
and the spring is coming,
and all the things she's going to do this year that she
didn't do last year, makes me feel that, as a team,
we've done our job.
- I'm happy to be going strong after 70.
Now, being retired, and now that I'm able to get
around, and my son is living in the same town,
we're going to start fishing together,
and I'm so looking forward to that.
It's good to have a co-fisherman
around that I can go bait a hook with.
♪ [music] ♪

Mike's Patient Story
Baptist Health Lexington Ortho patient Mike Bastin discusses his knee surgery with orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Janak Talwalkar.
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- [Mike] I live with my bride,
my gift from God, Barb Ryan.
Barb and I both, our life's goal was to just get to the
freedom to where we could have the time to go and
do travel, and we both love to do mission work.
We're heavily involved with
Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief.
My knees first started bothering me,
well, a long time ago, about 20 years ago.
I was playing basketball.
I was still trying to be 21.
Arthritis started coming in on my knees,
and someone gave me a name of a good doctor,
and so I went to see Dr. Janak Talwalkar.
- [Dr. Talwalkar] So Mike's condition started
out as...he had torn cartilage in his knee,
and he had a prior surgery where we did an
orthoscopic procedure, minimally invasive procedure,
cleaned his knee up, and that
kept Mike going for several years.
Over time, the articular cartilage or the cushioning
in the knee started to wear down and thin,
and eventually, he lost all of his articular cartilage
and then developed bone-on-bone arthritis.
- He let me determine when I was ready.
He said, "You'll know it when you're ready."
And so, I put it off for quite a while until the
weekend hit the...I had reached the bone-on-bone.
And when it did, it literally locked my left knee up.
It was straight. It was peg-like.
I couldn't bend my knee.
I could barely bend it enough to get in a car.
It shut me down.
It literally made an old man out of me quick
because I couldn't do anything with a stiff leg.
- We often say life is motion and motion is life.
And so, being able to be up
and active and moving is critical.
It's critical to bone health,
muscle strength, muscle health.
Motion is a basic thing but it's so critical.
- He did a great job of preparing me what to
expect, and kind of how the surgery would go,
and then how my recovery process would be.
They said that most people, the day of surgery,
would spend the night and then go home the next day.
I told him I wanted to go home that night.
And he said, "Well, if you can do what the
therapist require, then they'll let you go home.
I went home that night.
- Mike was an ideal patient.
He brightens up our office every time he walks in.
He's full of energy, very positive spirit.
I saw him just after he retired.
You knew he was still very busy, very active,
and had a lot of things that he wanted to do
with his life still.
- They told me that I would have continual improvement
up to a year, and I didn't really think at the time
it would take that long because I knew
I was going to work so hard at it.
But I also know this,
there's some things you can't rush up.
I pushed through the therapy but mother nature
just takes its time when it wants to heal the body.
I saw progress all the way up through the first year,
and since then, I have no pain in my left knee.
I can't imagine life without having had that surgery.
- The morning of surgeries can be a tense time,
and we have to sometimes come in and break the ice
and try to get patients to relax.
Well, I pull back the covers and see I Mike has
something taped to his knee that he had written,
and he's the one breaking the ice.
- "I've been waiting for months to fix this knee.
You have no idea the pain it's caused me.
Now the time is here so let's get it done.
I'll soon be good as new and back on the run.
I pray the Lord watches and angels attend to
guide your every thought and to steady your hand.
Now, put me to sleep and let the surgery begin.
Wake me up when it's over, and I'll be happy again."
- We try to give everyone gold-standard care.
The patient's attitude makes a big difference,
and their desire to recover,
and I'm glad I was just a small part of his
recovery because I know he's doing wonderful things
with his life.
- Genuine compassion is
something that you can't imitate.
And so, I could really see genuine compassion
and care from everybody at Baptist Health.
That's why I would send anybody
that needs a total knee replacement,
I would send them to Baptist Health without hesitation.
I'll take them if they're afraid to drive.
♪ [music] ♪
my gift from God, Barb Ryan.
Barb and I both, our life's goal was to just get to the
freedom to where we could have the time to go and
do travel, and we both love to do mission work.
We're heavily involved with
Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief.
My knees first started bothering me,
well, a long time ago, about 20 years ago.
I was playing basketball.
I was still trying to be 21.
Arthritis started coming in on my knees,
and someone gave me a name of a good doctor,
and so I went to see Dr. Janak Talwalkar.
- [Dr. Talwalkar] So Mike's condition started
out as...he had torn cartilage in his knee,
and he had a prior surgery where we did an
orthoscopic procedure, minimally invasive procedure,
cleaned his knee up, and that
kept Mike going for several years.
Over time, the articular cartilage or the cushioning
in the knee started to wear down and thin,
and eventually, he lost all of his articular cartilage
and then developed bone-on-bone arthritis.
- He let me determine when I was ready.
He said, "You'll know it when you're ready."
And so, I put it off for quite a while until the
weekend hit the...I had reached the bone-on-bone.
And when it did, it literally locked my left knee up.
It was straight. It was peg-like.
I couldn't bend my knee.
I could barely bend it enough to get in a car.
It shut me down.
It literally made an old man out of me quick
because I couldn't do anything with a stiff leg.
- We often say life is motion and motion is life.
And so, being able to be up
and active and moving is critical.
It's critical to bone health,
muscle strength, muscle health.
Motion is a basic thing but it's so critical.
- He did a great job of preparing me what to
expect, and kind of how the surgery would go,
and then how my recovery process would be.
They said that most people, the day of surgery,
would spend the night and then go home the next day.
I told him I wanted to go home that night.
And he said, "Well, if you can do what the
therapist require, then they'll let you go home.
I went home that night.
- Mike was an ideal patient.
He brightens up our office every time he walks in.
He's full of energy, very positive spirit.
I saw him just after he retired.
You knew he was still very busy, very active,
and had a lot of things that he wanted to do
with his life still.
- They told me that I would have continual improvement
up to a year, and I didn't really think at the time
it would take that long because I knew
I was going to work so hard at it.
But I also know this,
there's some things you can't rush up.
I pushed through the therapy but mother nature
just takes its time when it wants to heal the body.
I saw progress all the way up through the first year,
and since then, I have no pain in my left knee.
I can't imagine life without having had that surgery.
- The morning of surgeries can be a tense time,
and we have to sometimes come in and break the ice
and try to get patients to relax.
Well, I pull back the covers and see I Mike has
something taped to his knee that he had written,
and he's the one breaking the ice.
- "I've been waiting for months to fix this knee.
You have no idea the pain it's caused me.
Now the time is here so let's get it done.
I'll soon be good as new and back on the run.
I pray the Lord watches and angels attend to
guide your every thought and to steady your hand.
Now, put me to sleep and let the surgery begin.
Wake me up when it's over, and I'll be happy again."
- We try to give everyone gold-standard care.
The patient's attitude makes a big difference,
and their desire to recover,
and I'm glad I was just a small part of his
recovery because I know he's doing wonderful things
with his life.
- Genuine compassion is
something that you can't imitate.
And so, I could really see genuine compassion
and care from everybody at Baptist Health.
That's why I would send anybody
that needs a total knee replacement,
I would send them to Baptist Health without hesitation.
I'll take them if they're afraid to drive.
♪ [music] ♪

Jim's Patient Story

Melissa's Patient Story
Baptist Health Paducah orthopedic patient Melissa Wade shares her experience with Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Spencer Romine.
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♪ [music] ♪
- [Melissa] I was hiking in the woods
and I actually was climbing up over a log.
The log started to roll, and I
landed completely on my left leg.
Even today, I can hear the "pop."
All I could think was, "I'm an active person.
What is this going to do to me?
I don't have time to be injured."
- [Dr. Romine] With any injury in orthopedic
surgery, it is a mental problem just as much
as it is a physical problem.
When Melissa first came to see
me, she had been already treated
by another physician elsewhere.
She had torn her ACL.
She had had bone bruises, which
were thought of as being a break.
She hadn't been weight-bearing for several weeks.
She hadn't been mobilizing her knee.
She was already developing stiffness of her knee.
The main stay of preoperative
treatment is mobilization.
So, we were a little bit behind the eight ball
in terms of getting her to the point where she
could have surgery.
- He gave me some exercises to do on my
own every day, and he goes, "And in two weeks
we'll schedule surgery."
When he told me that, I was
finally at the point where it was,
like, "Oh, wow.
This is great.
I feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel."
I exercise at least six days a
week, so I was pretty depressed.
- When you can't do the things that you're used to
doing, you can't be as active as what you want to
be, it takes its toll on you mentally, and I
think that's part of our job as orthopedists
is to walk people through that.
The patient who has had a major surgery like
this, a physical therapist is someone that is vital
to their recovery, not only from a physical
standpoint, but also the mental standpoint.
- I remember meeting Weston for the first time, and
he said, "We will be able to do everything you want
to do, but you have to work."
And he said, "What I mean
by that is this won't be easy."
- [Weston] We're going to talk about,
you know, what are your goals?
What do you want to achieve from this?
What are some ways that we can make
life better and improve your quality of life?
- And my goals were, I want
to be where I was at before.
I want to be able to hike.
I want to be able to do
everything I was doing before.
Taylor had to sit there and
almost be a cheerleader for me.
She was like, "Yes, you can do this."
You know, she was like cheering
me on from the sideline.
- [Taylor] We here at Baptist Health Rehab
provide one-on-one care for each of our patients,
and I think that allows us to build up trust with
them so that when we ask them to do things after,
say a ACL, where we ask them
to hop and jump, they trust that
we have been working with them
and we know where they're at.
We know that the ACL has healed.
We're working with a doctor.
We know that you're at a point
in your care where you can do that.
They were very important to my healing journey.
Without them being my champions or my
cheerleaders, I don't think I could've done it.
- The fact that Baptist Health has really everything
from A to Z, in terms of preoperative studies to
being able to perform the surgery to, in
Melissa's case, performing her therapy here,
to keep it all in one place, for her,
has been extremely beneficial.
- It's very gratifying to see them go from, you know,
limping in here and walking out or running out,
being able to go back to their regular activity
and the joy that that brings them, you know,
brings us joy as well.
- Makes you appreciate your life.
Makes you appreciate the little things that you don't
think about every day until you go through things
like that, and then when you go through things
like that, you know, the people that are around you,
whether it's the physicians or your physical
therapist, they're just as important as your family
and everybody else to get
back to your best health.
♪ [music] ♪
- [Melissa] I was hiking in the woods
and I actually was climbing up over a log.
The log started to roll, and I
landed completely on my left leg.
Even today, I can hear the "pop."
All I could think was, "I'm an active person.
What is this going to do to me?
I don't have time to be injured."
- [Dr. Romine] With any injury in orthopedic
surgery, it is a mental problem just as much
as it is a physical problem.
When Melissa first came to see
me, she had been already treated
by another physician elsewhere.
She had torn her ACL.
She had had bone bruises, which
were thought of as being a break.
She hadn't been weight-bearing for several weeks.
She hadn't been mobilizing her knee.
She was already developing stiffness of her knee.
The main stay of preoperative
treatment is mobilization.
So, we were a little bit behind the eight ball
in terms of getting her to the point where she
could have surgery.
- He gave me some exercises to do on my
own every day, and he goes, "And in two weeks
we'll schedule surgery."
When he told me that, I was
finally at the point where it was,
like, "Oh, wow.
This is great.
I feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel."
I exercise at least six days a
week, so I was pretty depressed.
- When you can't do the things that you're used to
doing, you can't be as active as what you want to
be, it takes its toll on you mentally, and I
think that's part of our job as orthopedists
is to walk people through that.
The patient who has had a major surgery like
this, a physical therapist is someone that is vital
to their recovery, not only from a physical
standpoint, but also the mental standpoint.
- I remember meeting Weston for the first time, and
he said, "We will be able to do everything you want
to do, but you have to work."
And he said, "What I mean
by that is this won't be easy."
- [Weston] We're going to talk about,
you know, what are your goals?
What do you want to achieve from this?
What are some ways that we can make
life better and improve your quality of life?
- And my goals were, I want
to be where I was at before.
I want to be able to hike.
I want to be able to do
everything I was doing before.
Taylor had to sit there and
almost be a cheerleader for me.
She was like, "Yes, you can do this."
You know, she was like cheering
me on from the sideline.
- [Taylor] We here at Baptist Health Rehab
provide one-on-one care for each of our patients,
and I think that allows us to build up trust with
them so that when we ask them to do things after,
say a ACL, where we ask them
to hop and jump, they trust that
we have been working with them
and we know where they're at.
We know that the ACL has healed.
We're working with a doctor.
We know that you're at a point
in your care where you can do that.
They were very important to my healing journey.
Without them being my champions or my
cheerleaders, I don't think I could've done it.
- The fact that Baptist Health has really everything
from A to Z, in terms of preoperative studies to
being able to perform the surgery to, in
Melissa's case, performing her therapy here,
to keep it all in one place, for her,
has been extremely beneficial.
- It's very gratifying to see them go from, you know,
limping in here and walking out or running out,
being able to go back to their regular activity
and the joy that that brings them, you know,
brings us joy as well.
- Makes you appreciate your life.
Makes you appreciate the little things that you don't
think about every day until you go through things
like that, and then when you go through things
like that, you know, the people that are around you,
whether it's the physicians or your physical
therapist, they're just as important as your family
and everybody else to get
back to your best health.
♪ [music] ♪

John Orthopedic Story
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Transcript
I'm a man of routine for sure. If I don't wake up at five zero five every day, I'm I'm I'm lost.
I've been doing heating and cooling for about almost thirty eight years. That's one of my favorite things to do is work with my hands and and meet new people. I get to meet somebody new almost every day. I was at a condo with very high ceilings, and I was working on a furnace that was in a scuttle hole. I had a telescoping ladder, and I put it up through the scuttle hole and was pushing the scuttle hole door open with it. Got it all set up. I got to the top of that ladder, and it snapped in half.
And I dropped out of the ceiling, landed on my feet, and buckled back.
And I was off about three or four days and felt pain here and there. It was hurting like crazy, but I just thought maybe it'll go away.
I couldn't put hardly any weight on my hip at all. But over time, I just learned to deal with it. I would take Tylenol, whatever, and just deal with it.
We had went for a short ride one day, and I was already miserable getting on the bike. And I did it because it it was fun. When we got back, I had come in to sit down, and the girls had come over.
And Aurora, just say that I snapped at her. And I said I wasn't gonna do it again.
It wasn't fair to her.
That's when I decided I better do something, And then I ended up going to doctor Lindner.
There's usually one big, exciting event. So when John first came in to see me in the office, he was in, severe pain. He had, debilitating hip pain. He had a significant limp. He told me that he wasn't able to do the things that he enjoyed anymore.
A lot of times when patients come in, they're very hesitant to undergo surgery, and I completely understand that surgery is a big step. What if it didn't work?
What if I go through all this and and I do miss work and I do all this and it's not successful?
I'm a very hands on person, so I like to use a lot of bone models and kind of explain to them and show them exactly what we're going to be doing.
I think trying to connect with the patients on a deeper level and really understand the things that are important to them will help us, really treat them to the best of our abilities.
Doctor Lindner was a different type of a doctor for me. What a good guy. What a cool dude. I felt different after I woke up from that surgery.
Literally different with the way my bones felt.
So it's it's like a magic trick. It's the only thing I can tell you. It really is to go from that type of pain to not having any at all.
One of the most rewarding things about my job is getting to be able to help patients, be able to get back to doing the things that they enjoy. And in John's case, he he was able to get back to playing with his grandchildren, going fishing, riding his motorcycle. He really got a new lease on life and being able to get back to doing the things he enjoys.
I went from not being able to do a flight of steps to being able to crawl under a house.
I can play with the kids now, which is my world, actually. It's everything from spending time with my family and making sure that they have what they need to doing my job better than I've ever been able to do it before.
Why wait?
You don't have to. Don't be in misery.
Don't sit one day and be irritable towards your loved ones because doctor Lindner is Superman, one. Two, Baptist Health LaGrange is gonna take care of you. If you get it done, you're gonna be skipping down the road.
I've been doing heating and cooling for about almost thirty eight years. That's one of my favorite things to do is work with my hands and and meet new people. I get to meet somebody new almost every day. I was at a condo with very high ceilings, and I was working on a furnace that was in a scuttle hole. I had a telescoping ladder, and I put it up through the scuttle hole and was pushing the scuttle hole door open with it. Got it all set up. I got to the top of that ladder, and it snapped in half.
And I dropped out of the ceiling, landed on my feet, and buckled back.
And I was off about three or four days and felt pain here and there. It was hurting like crazy, but I just thought maybe it'll go away.
I couldn't put hardly any weight on my hip at all. But over time, I just learned to deal with it. I would take Tylenol, whatever, and just deal with it.
We had went for a short ride one day, and I was already miserable getting on the bike. And I did it because it it was fun. When we got back, I had come in to sit down, and the girls had come over.
And Aurora, just say that I snapped at her. And I said I wasn't gonna do it again.
It wasn't fair to her.
That's when I decided I better do something, And then I ended up going to doctor Lindner.
There's usually one big, exciting event. So when John first came in to see me in the office, he was in, severe pain. He had, debilitating hip pain. He had a significant limp. He told me that he wasn't able to do the things that he enjoyed anymore.
A lot of times when patients come in, they're very hesitant to undergo surgery, and I completely understand that surgery is a big step. What if it didn't work?
What if I go through all this and and I do miss work and I do all this and it's not successful?
I'm a very hands on person, so I like to use a lot of bone models and kind of explain to them and show them exactly what we're going to be doing.
I think trying to connect with the patients on a deeper level and really understand the things that are important to them will help us, really treat them to the best of our abilities.
Doctor Lindner was a different type of a doctor for me. What a good guy. What a cool dude. I felt different after I woke up from that surgery.
Literally different with the way my bones felt.
So it's it's like a magic trick. It's the only thing I can tell you. It really is to go from that type of pain to not having any at all.
One of the most rewarding things about my job is getting to be able to help patients, be able to get back to doing the things that they enjoy. And in John's case, he he was able to get back to playing with his grandchildren, going fishing, riding his motorcycle. He really got a new lease on life and being able to get back to doing the things he enjoys.
I went from not being able to do a flight of steps to being able to crawl under a house.
I can play with the kids now, which is my world, actually. It's everything from spending time with my family and making sure that they have what they need to doing my job better than I've ever been able to do it before.
Why wait?
You don't have to. Don't be in misery.
Don't sit one day and be irritable towards your loved ones because doctor Lindner is Superman, one. Two, Baptist Health LaGrange is gonna take care of you. If you get it done, you're gonna be skipping down the road.