Kenny's Story

Pedaling to Victory Following Hip Replacement

Kenny knows a thing or two about overcoming adversity. Kenny, who is a probation officer and avid cyclist, has been rising above health challenges his entire life. Beginning with a reaction to the polio vaccine that was given to him as a child, Kenny underwent surgery as a teenager that left him with his right leg twisted and 3/4 inch shorter than his left leg. Undeterred, Kenny was able to remain athletic throughout his younger years, which he says helped instill a competitive spirit that lives within him today.

“I learned at an early age that the only way I lost was if I quit, so I developed an attitude–I never quit,” Kenny says. This attitude has helped Kenny deal with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), which he learned of in 1991, and surgery to remove an acoustic neuroma, a slow-growing tumor in the inner ear, which made him lose his hearing in his left ear and created balance problems.

Through it all, Kenny says he maintained his competitive nature. “Since I couldn’t participate in some of the sports I’d enjoyed in my youth, cycling eventually became my sport of choice,” Kenny says. However, in 2004, Kenny’s challenges with his shortened right leg began to catch up with him–in the form of intense pain in his right hip and lower back. “It had gotten to the point that I was in constant pain,” Kenny says. “It seemed like every time my heart beat, the pain seemed to throb with it.”

Kenny says he coped by trying a variety of treatments–from over-the-counter medications to acupuncture therapy. The pain finally became too much for Kenny, when, on an 850-mile cycling trip around the New England states and Canada, Kenny had to get off of his bike and ride in a car for the duration of the trip. Kenny, who jokingly calls himself “a legend in my own mind,” says his cycling companions were shocked. “They know I don’t give up easily, so it was obvious to everyone that I was dealing with overwhelming pain.”

Kenny says it took him about 9 months to find his surgeon, Dr. Thomas Vail of Duke University Hospital. “When Dr. Vail looked at the x-rays of my right hip, he told me I had a ‘pseudo socket,’ which was a twisted hip socket,” Kenny says. This twisted socket was causing the intense pain Kenny was experiencing.

When his doctor recommended total hip replacement surgery, Kenny admits he was a little apprehensive. “My dad had both of his hips replaced, and had some trouble because he didn’t do many exercises to make his legs stronger,” Kenny says. “I didn’t want to end up in the same situation.”

Once again Kenny decided to rely on his “never quit” attitude, and made the decision to move forward with the surgery. “I believe in using mind envisioning, and in this case, I really could envision that everything would be OK,” Kenny says.

On July 18, 2005, Kenny underwent total hip replacement surgery on his right hip. During the surgery, Kenny’s doctor was also able to twist his foot back into a more natural position, lengthening his shortened leg by 9/16 inch.

Although Kenny says his recovery began slowly at first, within a few days he was able to begin spinning on a recumbent trainer, or reclining exercise bicycle, with the permission of his doctor. “I had to start slowly, but eventually the training became a daily routine of sweat and speed,” Kenny says. “I really wanted the spinning motion of cycling to be as natural with my new hip as walking itself.”

In less than 3 months, Kenny’s doctor told him he could get back on his bike, and he’s been pedaling ever since. Since his surgery, Kenny has ridden over 6,000 miles and is cycling even better than before his hip replacement. Thanks to his new hip and lengthened leg, the pain he was experiencing is now gone. “It used to be I could get tears in my eyes because of the pain,” Kenny says. “Now I can get tears in my eyes because of the lack of pain. It’s a whole different ballgame now.”

Kenny recently participated in a 1,950-mile bike ride from International Falls, Minnesota, to New Orleans, Louisiana, to raise money and awareness for the MS Society. “Before the surgery I would have been very hesitant to take a trip like this, but now I’m ready to roll,” Kenny says.

The performance of a hip replacement depends on your age, weight, activity level and other factors. There are potential risks, and recovery takes time. People with conditions limiting rehabilitation should not have this surgery. Only an orthopaedic surgeon can tell if hip replacement is right for you.

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