After a fall a few years ago, Elizabeth Grundy, 54, from Walsall in the West Midlands started to experience pain in her left hip which gradually began to impact her life. As a community nurse regularly visiting patients’ homes, Elizabeth found she was no longer able to bend down easily or kneel on the floor to attend to their care. Over the past 18 months her hip pain became so bad, she’d reluctantly switched her active community role for a clinical desk job as she could no longer get about on her patient rounds without a crutch.
“I’m so pleased I decided to get the surgery done quicker by going private and finally took back control of my life. I can’t thank the team at Practice Plus Group Hospital, Birmingham enough for getting me back on my feet again.”
Elizabeth Grundy, hip replacement patient at Practice Plus Group Hospital, Birmingham
Elizabeth says: “When I fell over four years ago, I was left with a limp and a painful hip- both started to really trouble me about 18 months ago as I was in a lot of pain. My GP started me on some physio, but when that didn’t do the trick, I was sent for X-rays and found I had degenerative disease caused by osteoarthritis. At 54, I was quite shocked as you don’t expect to get bad arthritis at this age.
“The pain in my hip really affected my job as a community clinical sister where I mostly work in palliative care. My job involves visiting patients in their homes so I’m often bending, kneeling or going up and down stairs. All of this became impossible a year ago when I was forced to take a clinical role in the office working as a triage nurse as working in the community was too much. The switch from being active to a very sedentary role meant I inevitably put on some weight. I was told that my increased BMI was too high for hip surgery on the NHS and I would need to lose weight before they could operate.
“I began dieting and started to see some results, but was becoming very down about sitting at a desk all day and waiting to be referred for surgery and I missed my patient contact in the community.
“Outside of work I was also missing playing with my two grandchildren too. They are both very young and have lots of energy. With my hip so painful I felt we were restricted to more indoor games like carpet bowls or games at a table. It was heart-breaking when they asked to go to the park as I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up. They were very understanding but I was not able to be the active Nanny I wanted to be for them.
“Outside of work I was also missing playing with my two grandchildren too…with my hip so painful I felt we were restricted to more indoor games like carpet bowls or games at a table. It was heart-breaking when they asked to go to the park as I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up. They were very understanding but I was not able to be the active Nanny I wanted to be for them.”
Elizabeth Grundy, hip replacement patient at Practice Plus Group Hospital, Birmingham
“Around this time I started to think about private hip replacement surgery to try to speed up the process. I was unhappy waiting to get to the right BMI for NHS surgery and in too much pain. I’d also heard some private hospitals would operate on patients with a higher BMI than the NHS do, so I began a Google search for private providers near me. I found Wellsoon from Practice Plus Group and saw that they had a hospital in Birmingham. It was a godsend. I’d lost quite a bit of my weight and felt confident I would be ok for surgery with their BMI 45 as the upper limit and made a phone call to enquire.
“The whole process to get assessed and be booked in for surgery has been really easy and I am delighted that I gave Wellsoon a call. From the first phone call to the day of my surgery and beyond, I’ve felt really listened to. Everything about the surgery and process was explained really well too. I felt so at ease. The reassurance from the Consultant and team that I’d soon be on the mend really comforted me. I feel I’ve got everything I wanted from the surgery and more.
“Now I’ve had my surgery I can start to look forward again. I’ve missed my patient contact immensely and can’t wait to get back into the community again once my hip has recovered. I’ve also hated taking so many painkillers to relieve my hip. They make you feel groggy and lethargic and now that I’ve come off them after my op I feel much clearer and have more energy again.
“My grandchildren will also be thrilled that I can join in at the park soon too once I’ve fully recovered. Just last year when we went on holiday I missed out going in the sea with them as I couldn’t walk down to the shore. Holidays will be so much better now! I won’t have to take a chair with me everywhere or get assistance in the airport. It’s the little things you take for granted really that I’ll enjoy having back.
“I know my mental health will improve massively too as I’ll be able to get about again. Mental health is a massive part of coping with severe pain. I think that’s one thing people don’t understand really, and especially with me being so young for arthritis too. Walking with a crutch people look at you and I felt embarrassed more than anything. Nobody knows why you have a crutch and I feel people look past you and dismiss you. I didn’t feel like the real me at all. I’m glad I won’t have to deal with that anymore.
“I can’t wait to get my life back and just start again because the pain starts to wear you down. Trying to be positive all the time can take its toll a bit. I’m so pleased I decided to get the surgery done quicker by going private and finally took back control of my life. I can’t thank the team at Practice Plus Group Hospital, Birmingham enough for getting me back on my feet again.”
