Conditions + Treatments
Hip Replacement (Anterior)
I was born in Washington, Pennsylvania and was raised in South Florida. I am retired and now live in West Palm Beach, FL and Lake Martin, AL and I am enjoying every minute of it. I played a lot of sports growing up. As a kid, I played baseball, basketball, and football. In my 40's, 50's, and 60's I also traveled all over the U.S. playing softball.
About 3 years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to Pickleball. From that time on I have been hooked on the game. It is fun, competitive and social. Over the past 3 years I have played in 25 tournaments and have made the medal stand all but 3 times, with 13 gold medals.
My right hip was bothering me, and I had gotten to the point of it being bone-on-bone. I tried to push through the pain by taking anti-inflammatory medicine while continuing to play pickleball. After a tournament I played, I looked at my partner and said I can't do it anymore, as the pain had gotten unbearable. I knew I needed to take time off and seek long-term treatment. I was very fortunate someone recommended Dr. James Flanagan at Andrews Sports Medicine.
Dr. Flanagan performed my total hip replacement. My entire experience with Dr. Flanagan was great! His clinic is very efficient, and the communication was outstanding. His physician assistant, Eve, and his clinical coordinator, Amy, were outstanding as well. Dr. Flanagan has a great team and they all took very good care of me.
The recovery process is going well. I was in good shape before my surgery which helped with the physical therapy I did for about 4 weeks in Alex City, AL. That started the process of getting me back on track. Presently, I am doing a walking regimen 3 days week and 3 other days I do exercises for my hip to strengthen it, with one day off.
I haven’t gotten to the point where I can play competitive pickleball all the time, but I have played a little. I am slowly working my way up to playing tournament pickleball again soon. I am reading my body and taking it day by day.
I would definitely recommend Andrews to friends and family, and I already have! Thank you to Dr. Flanagan and his staff for their professionalism, attention to detail, and for getting me back to normal.
Check out the article - Pickleball - about Gary and his friends in the August, 2021 issue of Lake Martin Magazine.
