When Shannon Himes was in her fifties, she was in the best physical condition of her life. For years she had dedicated herself to training for triathlons by bicycling, swimming and running. Shannon could swim 1.5 miles without stopping, she ran a 26-mile marathon in Hawaii, she hiked the Grand Canyon and did several runs to benefit leukemia research.

The Trouble Begins
When she turned 60, however, Shannon’s knees began to hurt. Not only did she have to give up all the physical activities she had grown to love, but even ordinary daily activities such as walking and climbing stairs became difficult. She made an appointment with a physician in Las Vegas, where she was living at the time, but was unimpressed by his recommendations and decided to ignore the pain.

In 2007, Shannon moved to Cottonwood and was referred to Jack Wylie, M.D., orthopaedic surgeon on the Medical Staff at VVMC, who told her about VVMC’s progressive Joint Replacement Program. When she found out the physical therapists would get her up and walking on the same day as her surgery, she knew she had found the right place.

New Life
Shannon had her right knee replaced on March 28, 2007, and her left knee replaced less than five months later. As promised, after each operation, therapists had her up and walking right away.

“We treat our patients as though they’re not ill, just temporarily disabled,” said Dr. Wylie. “By getting patients up the same day as surgery, we quickly get them back to doing the everyday activities they want to do. This way, they can walk, play with the grandkids and get back to living their lives faster than ever.”

"My rehab was incredible," said Shannon. "The Entire Care Rehab & Sports Medicine team at VVMC goes above and beyond to get your knee bending and get you to the point where you're going up and down stairs, moving and active again. That's exactly what I wanted because quality of life is what matters. You can live to 100, but it's no fun if you're just sitting around."

Last December, Shannon had recovered enough to be able to hike up the Sedona Thunder Mountain Trail. “I can’t express how great it felt to climb that mountain,” said Shannon. “I may have new knees, but I’m the old Shannon again, and that’s the best feeling in the world!”