BILL: My name’s Bill, and we are up on Bensch Mountain, in the little town of Newfane, Vermont. I love the peace and quiet, being out here. It’s a sense of freedom to be in the mountains, whether it’s an alpine climb or a short hike. There’s that feeling where it’s you and the mountain, and you need to be able to take care of yourself if you’re going to be out there. I work as a County Forester for the State Forestry Division, I’m assigned to a half-million acre county. It typically has me out in the woods two, two and a half days a week, and Vermont is not a flat state, I should add. Once the knee problems started in my late twenties, it was just a downhill progression from there. My whole sense of who I was, was based on my level of physical activity, and for the first time in my life, I felt weak. I found it was getting harder and harder to do the field work for my job, which made me very nervous. I woke up in the middle of the night, screaming in pain, and I was just covered in sweat, thinking, I cannot live like this, I have to make a change. Two days later I called my surgeon and made an appointment to go and see him. When I saw him, he gave me a very complete exam, but I could see that the only thing that was really going to work was to go through a total knee replacement.
SUPER: Received first DePuy Orthopaedics Knee in 2007
BILL: What’s carried me through in my life and very difficult situations was the desire that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. The rehab was challenging for me. I was very slow, if you will, out of the starting gate, but then I progressed very rapidly.
SUPER: DePuy Orthopaedics Knees: A heritage of more than 30 years.
BILL: I kept telling myself, I’ve got to go through some pain, for some gain. Seven months, roughly, after the first surgery, I was standing on top of Mount Willey, and I had a big smile on my face.
SUPER: Bill: 4 years of Real Life testing
When I’m out in the woods, that’s a reality that I don’t get anywhere else. I literally got my life back.
SUPER: DePuy Orthopaedics Knees. Real Life Tested.
SUPER: Important safety information. Knee replacement is not for everyone. There are potential risks. Recovery takes time and success depends on factors like age, weight and activity level. Only an orthopaedic surgeon can tell if knee replacement is right for you.
Red Banner SUPER: For other real life tested stories visit RealLifeTested.com
LOGO: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc.
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