Mako Robotic Knee Replacement Patient Testimonial
Sheila Turner lives in Sweet, Idaho, about an hour from Boise in Gem County. She is a retired archaeologist who likes to stay active on her beautiful 29-acre property. Sheila is cheerful and positive. She has bright, friendly eyes and a calm personality that helps others feel comfortable around her.
Sheila and her husband, George, enjoy walking around their land and watching the wildlife. They often see animals like wild turkeys and deer moving through their fields.
Even though Sheila seems full of energy, she has lived with constant knee pain. She explains, “If you turn over in bed, it hurts. If you go up the stairs, it hurts. You can feel it all the time. Sometimes it even gives out.”
Her knee problems started years ago when she twisted it stepping off a sidewalk. Over time, the pain got worse. She found ways to deal with it, like using a grocery cart for support when shopping. She also tried to do as much as possible while already bent over, because bending down again was very painful.
One day, Sheila couldn’t even get out of bed. That’s when she realized she needed help. She decided to have a partial knee replacement using the Mako robotic-assisted system at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center.
Just 12 days after surgery Sheila and George visited the Julia Davis Rose Garden in downtown Boise. Sheila said she felt like a new person. She was walking comfortably, going up stairs, and didn’t need a crutch anymore. She said, “It’s just such a remarkable thing to happen.”
Before surgery, the pain often kept her awake at night and made it hard to move around. Less than two weeks after surgery, she was doing very well. She said, “I wake up in the morning feeling better. I’m not tired, and I feel excellent. That’s a big change, and it happened right after I left the hospital.”
Sheila used a pain scale often used by doctors. Before surgery, she rated her pain as an 8 out of 10. After surgery, she says it’s now a 1. She explained, “The pain was always there, especially at night. Not having it now feels like being free. I can’t say enough good things about it. I would do it again in a second.”