“All the people that took care of me were excellent, total professionals, and very compassionate. Dr. FtizGibbons is a fabulous surgeon; I think the world of him.”
David Clearman is a semi-retired building contractor who has found his life’s second love – a beautiful horse named Garnet. (His first love is his fabulous, compassionate, and beautiful wife.) He enjoys camping with Garnet in the mountains, where he can ride varied terrain from easy to extremely challenging. He also relishes the good times around the campfire with his wife and close friends.
David blew out his left meniscus when he was young and lived through the increasing pain for many years. When walking a ½ mile became agony, and the 12 ibuprofen a day wasn’t helping, David knew he needed to see a doctor. David’s wife was an orthopedic nurse and recommended he see Dr. FitzGibbons. David had his left knee replaced by Dr. FitzGibbons in 2007.
David had had an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee years before and was starting to experience some issues. By 2018, his knee was in pretty bad shape and would “lock-up” when he walked, so he made an appointment with Dr. FitzGibbons. Unfortunately, he needed to schedule surgery soon due to personal reasons, so a surgery date was set for about three months later.
“This knee went fantastic. I was up walking around in the hospital and came home the next day. “ David used a walker for the first week and then quickly moved to a cane. He completed in-home physical therapy (PT) 3 times a week for 2 weeks and felt great, so he started doing his PT exercises as much as possible. During this time, David missed Garnet but was advised to stay away from the unstable footing at the barn and the increased risk of infection. However, by his 2-week postoperative visit, he had already been to the stable to say hello to Garnet.
David was elated when 7 weeks after surgery, he was “back on the horse” and went for a small ride in a sand floor arena. As the days passed and weather permitted, he rode more and more. “In my opinion, it was a very, very fast recovery back to normal activity. I am happy I did it. It has vastly improved my quality of life, and I quit taking all that ibuprofen.”
Whether you’re an outdoorsman who loves riding his horse like David or a one-time mountain biker who sustained an injury while enjoying your adventure, we are here for you.
Our team of specialists will work with you to help you get back out there and live life to its full potential again.