Joined at the hip: Replacement surgeries return these sisters to active lives

MOORESVILLE, Ind. – Five years apart in age and just five minutes away from each other’s homes, sisters Gail Romine and Chris Harrington were leading different lives.

Their lives and families were taking them in different directions over the past several years, and with Chris’ upcoming move to Madison, Ind., almost two hours away from their current homes in Carmel, the sisters were expecting to see each other even less often. But new hips brought them back together.

“Most people have reunions; we have hip replacements,” Gail said, with the familial sense of humor that added a spark of entertainment to their recovery.

The sisters share a genetic tendency toward accelerated cartilage wear in the hips, and both had already had one hip replaced before scheduling their second replacements (each on the opposite hips) for this past March. Gail jokingly refers to the two of them as “double hippies.”

Chris’ first replacement was 11 years ago, when she was 47 years old. Gail’s was eight years ago at age 46.

This time around, Gail’s hip was in worse shape, but she didn’t schedule her surgery until her older sister had hers on

Both under the care of Jeff Pierson, M.D. – orthopedic surgeon with the Center for Hip & Knee Surgery at Franciscan St. Francis Health-Mooresville – the two were able to share their experiences from the first day. They asked to share one of the center’s semi-private rooms and supplemented their recoveries with a healthy dose of each other’s humor. the books. “She was waiting for Big Sis to take the lead,” said Chris, who moved her surgery date so that they could have both on the same day.

Nurses cautioned them not to compare their recoveries against one another, as both could recover at different speeds and have varying experiences. But the sisters weren’t concerned. They saw the opportunity to support each other, offer encouragement and, most of all, reconnect.

As they recovered, they shared time away from work and activities and joked about having walker races around the island in Gail’s kitchen. While they are extremely pleased with the success of their surgeries and had no complications, they both say the best thing to come out of the experience for them was the family time.

“It was fun to just be together,” Chris said. “That was the most enjoyable part of it,” Gail said. “That, and feeling happy again, instead of waking up thinking, ‘I can’t move. I just have to get through the day.’”

Gail and Chris both say they had been living with pain in their hips for about a year before scheduling their surgeries. Gail recalls hearing clicking sounds as raw, cartilage-deficient bones in her hip rubbed together when she moved. Chris was experiencing a catching sensation as her bones caught against torn pieces of cartilage. Just five weeks after their surgeries, both were experiencing significantly better movement and less pain.

And already they were noticing a difference in how they felt. “When I walked back into work (after surgery), people said, ‘I don’t see the pain in your face anymore,’” Gail said. “I feel happy again.” She was looking forward to participating in a fundraising walk.

Chris said she feels “like a free bird.” Her experience this time around was different from the first, when it was common for physicians to recommend that their patients not put weight on their new hips during recovery. Newer guidelines suggest that putting weight on the joint can positively affect recovery, so she has been active and mobile since surgery.

“I am just amazed at my recovery,” she said. “I bounced back so fast, and I’m 11 years older this time.”

She was walking with only a cane just two weeks after surgery and by five weeks had almost completely progressed to walking without support. Gail’s experience was similar; she returned to work just three weeks after surgery.

Pierson credits the two for staying motivated and informed and working hard toward their recoveries. Thei

r personalities were an added benefit.

“Gail and Chris are really terrific patients,” he said. “They brought a unique perspective to their surgeries. They are positive thinkers. They shared their experiences with each other, and they supported each other along the way. And it is so much fun to have them as patients.”

For Gail and Chris, their positive experience with total joint replacement keeps them from being concerned about the need for future surgeries. With total prosthetic joints typically lasting 20 years or more, their young ages means they might need similar surgeries down the road.

“It doesn’t bother me to think it could happen again,” Gail said. “Since this one has gone so well, even if it’s in 20 years, I’ll be able to recuperate just as well as I could when I was younger.”

Neither has regrets about surgery and recommends making the commitment as soon as significant pain is interfering with one’s life. “Why suffer, because if you can get the surgery done and move on with your life and be pain-free, it’s worth it, that’s for sure,” Chris said.

She is looking forward to spending lots of time outdoors — without pausing to sit because of pain — at her new farm-like home in Madison. With five llamas and active grandchildren, she’s expecting to be up and joining the fun, not watching everyone else from the sidelines.

And she plans to visit her sister in Carmel frequently, this time staying in her sister’s home during her visits. She says it’s funny that they will probably see each other more often now that she’s two hours away than they did when they were five minutes apart.

“It’s a strange way to get that reconnection back, through surgery, but we have,” Chris said. “It’s just been an awesome thing. It’s been a great experience.”

Gail Romine (left) and her sister Chris Harrington exercise their new hips on the Monon Trail in Carmel. The two sisters had their hips replaced on the same day by Dr. Jeff Pierson.