My knee is one of the nearly one million knees replaced this year by a total knee arthroplasty in the United States.

It’s my second knee replacement surgery – my right knee went earlier this year, and now, this month, my second knee bit the dust.

Approximately 800,000 total knee arthroplasties and 450,000 total hip arthroplasties are performed annually in the United States, according to PubMed, a database maintained by the National Library of Medicine.

It’s still December, so final figures for 2025 aren’t available yet, but expectations are that there will be about 1.2 million total knee arthroplasties performed this year in the United States, including the two that I had, and 650,000 total hip replacements.

“Knee and hip replacement are becoming increasingly common because so many people have arthritis,” according to my surgeon, Dr. Hari Parvataneni. “It’s an important way to regain mobility.”

I can attest to the truth of that statement. Parvataneni is a hip and knee replacement surgeon with Florida Orthopaedic Institute and is also a professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of South Florida’s College of Medicine. I interviewed him in my hospital room at HCA Florida North Florida Hospital, a day after my surgery.

It’s not your usual setting for a journalistic interview, but I had to seize the moment. Parvataneni is a busy man and generally performs surgeries a couple of days a week.

“With a knee replacement surgery, which you’ve been through…a lot of people can put up with pain. But when you start getting socially isolated and less active, a lot of people get pushed to do something,” he said. “Your knees weren’t just arthritic; they were really arthritic and deformed.”

Huh? Well, I hadn’t really thought of my knees as deformed, but they did hurt a lot. And going up and down stairs, let’s just say I’m grateful I live in Florida, where there aren’t many stairs to climb.

So, I might have struggled on, but then I became a grandmother, and my granddaughter lives with my son and daughter-in-law in a Baltimore rowhouse with many, many stairs to climb. So, what’s a first-time grandmother to do? Schedule an appointment with Dr. Parvataneni, that’s what.

It wasn’t easy for me to make the call. I first started thinking about it 10 years ago, but I was afraid to go under the knife. I delayed and delayed until I took a fall in September 2022, and I no longer had a choice.

At that time, I had two unplanned hip surgeries and was able to have rehabilitative care at Oak Hammock, which happened to have a bed available at that time.

My knee surgeries were scheduled, and, in both instances, I opted for in-house rehabilitation at Magnolia Ridge Rehabilitation Center in Gainesville, where I have benefited from the twice-a-day physical therapy available to those whose insurance, like mine, allows them to get skilled nursing care here.

The buzz about Magnolia Ridge, a 223-bed facility that opened in 2022, for people like me who need short-term rehabilitative, treatment is all about its physical therapy and its team of about 30 therapists.

“As a skilled nursing facility, we provide physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and lymphedema therapy,” said Simon Marquez, the facility’s nursing home administrator.  “We offer a wide range of services. What sets us apart is the comprehensive clinical services that we provide, led by seasoned healthcare professionals. It’s no surprise we are the premier health care facility in Gainesville.”

At my age, 77, I have lost count of the number of people I know who have had a knee or a hip replaced. Like me, my sister had two knee replacements. My friends, Tina and Don Fields, each had a hip and a knee replaced, respectively. The list is endless.

Then some are thinking about it, even those who should know enough not to have any doubts about the pros of surgery, like one of my nurses at Magnolia Ridge, Lori Croft.

“I’m just nervous,” Croft said, during one of our nighttime conversations.

Like I was, Croft’s knees are bone-on-bone, a sure indication that surgery might be a good call.

“Physical, emotional, and social activities all go hand in hand,” Parvataneni said. 
“The best way to age is to remain active, so if you are considering any type of orthopedic surgery, if it can make you better, you should consider it. The risks of not doing something and losing function are far outweighed by the benefits of a well-done surgery that lets you restore your mobility.”

So, here I am now at Magnolia Ridge, working on getting my mobility back. Every day I ride the stationary bike, which warms up my muscles. At least that’s what my therapists say.

But they have one bike here that takes the peddler on a ride along Marina Bay on the Singapore waterfront. It even includes a ride-by of the Singapore Eggs, giant white eggs that are a kind of art installation that float on the water.

Suffice to say that Singapore’s Marina Bay has just been added to my travel bucket list.

I do my leg raises and bridges, march in place, and work on my balance. And move, move, move. There are people here in worse shape than me, and others who surpass me. But what I remember is that this is not a competition – my goal is to physically simply be the best that I can be.

One thing I do enjoy is watching my fellow patients who can do so stroll around the huge therapy room. For me, it’s reminiscent of the town plaza, an aspect of life in Latin America. Therapists walk the room with their patients – some of whom are pushing walkers, some rollators and some taking their first fragile steps on their own, wearing the gait belt the therapist has tied around their waist.

Because everyone is walking in pairs, or even threesomes, if a second therapist is pushing a wheelchair behind a patient as a safety precaution, it makes me think of friends or sweethearts taking a stroll around the square.

The therapy team is terrific, and Magnolia Ridge is renowned for that. But like any nursing facility, Magnolia Ridge has its problems. There were a few times I did not get my medication until hours after I was supposed to receive it,

I was here over the holidays, but I stayed here before, so the staffing shortages I noticed this time around did not seem to be just a Christmas thing. I overheard a CNA or certified nursing assistant comment when she went to check on a patient at dinnertime that the individual’s breakfast and lunch trays still had not been removed from the room.

I am not always the easiest patient. I can be loath to ask for help or get annoyed by little things. like not getting salt and pepper with my meals until it was explained to me that it must be a special ask because so many people are on very restricted diets, which translates to bland. 

But thoughts of my granddaughter and resuming my life as I knew it keep me soldiering on. I do get what I consider a special treat as a part of my care _— manual lymphatic drainage, a light massage technique combined with the use of compression hose, that helps to reduce swelling that can follow orthopedic arthroplasties.

Yerania Valencia is the Lead Certified Lymphedema Therapist at Magnolia Ridge Rehab, who started the program here in May 2024. There are four other therapists on her team.

“Definitely, people when they come here as an in-patient to receive rehabilitation services, the nice thing being here in skilled nursing, if they develop this excess swelling, we can start addressing it immediately,” she said.

And the massage feels wonderful.

But in the end, what it all comes down to, at least for me, is my desire to stay engaged with life. I may be older, but I am far from over, at least that’s what I hope

“Age is a number, but besides being a number, aging also has emotional, physical, social, and medical aspects,” said Parvataneni. “There are so many things that go into it. The thing to realize is that those interactions in your community and social circles go a long way in overall health and well-being. That’s why our motto is keeping you active.”

And staying active, even with my constraints, is just what I intend to do.