What led me here?
The injury, the operations, the limitations and the experience of living with them.
Read the knee storyOrthobiologics / A patient’s perspective
The questions
I kept asking.
My interest in orthobiologics began with repeated surgery, chronic pain and a desire to understand the options in front of me. The stakes were personal.
My experience
Hope.
Room for uncertainty.
Across my treatment history, I have experienced more than twenty PRP procedures and four stem-cell procedures. Those numbers describe what I have been through. I approach this subject as a patient with a long history and strong views shaped by that experience.
An orthopedic surgeon at Steadman Clinic in Vail recommended that I try PRP. Later came a relationship with Regenerative Performance and Dr. Drew Timmermans, beginning around 2018 or 2019.
What progress feels like
More movement.
More to the story.
When pain has narrowed daily life, the possibility of improvement carries real weight. My mobility today is much improved. I can move well, even run, and no longer need a cane. I also still experience pain.
I cannot turn a long, complicated history into a clean explanation of what caused every change. My story includes injury, surgeries, donor meniscal tissue, rehabilitation, treatment decisions and daily habits.
I can describe what I went through, the questions I asked and what living in my body feels like now.
Questions worth keeping open
Look at
the whole history.
What changed in daily life?
The movements that became possible, the ordinary tasks that became easier and the pain that remained.
What is still uncertain?
What one person’s experience can tell us, what it cannot and what deserves a more careful conversation.
Before we begin
Good questions.
Clear answers.
Are you a clinician offering treatment advice?
No. This is a personal account from a patient. Treatment decisions belong with qualified clinicians who can evaluate an individual’s circumstances.
Does your experience establish that a treatment works?
No. My experience does not establish cause and effect or predict another person’s outcome. A long recovery includes many factors, and both improvement and ongoing pain belong in an honest account.
What conversations interest you?
Thoughtful discussions with clinicians, researchers and people living through recovery—specific about experience and careful about what remains uncertain.
The next conversation
A patient’s voice.
A conversation worth having.
Bring a thoughtful question or a perspective shaped by your own experience.