Betty Morton

Betty Morton isn’t the type to let a painful hip stop her from making the trip of a lifetime. After all, she has battled osteoarthritis, a degenerative condition of the joints, for several years. “My left hip started bothering me about a year ago and had become very painful,” the 69-year-old Kansas City, Mo. woman says. “But I had already planned a vacation to China and I didn’t want to postpone it.”

Instead, Morton decided to postpone hip replacement surgery. “I probably should have had the surgery before the trip,” Morton admits. “It was difficult to walk the last three days of the trip, and I had to use a wheelchair in the airports.”

So as soon as she returned to Kansas City, Morton headed straight to Research Medical Center’s Joint Camp where she participated in the prehabilitation program in preparation for her Nov. 19 hip replacement. As a veteran of two knee replacement surgeries a few years ago, also performed at Research, Morton knew what the procedure involved, but says the prehab program prepared her well for the experience.

“I think I have done very well,” she says. “The prehab program was great and Joint Camp was wonderful. I especially enjoyed the back and neck massage. The staff took good care of me.”

And what are Morton’s travel plans now that she is on the road to recovery? “I have a trip to New York planned in the spring for my niece’s wedding,” she says. “I hope to be walking well by then.” In the meantime, she is sticking close to home. “I just want to be able to walk wherever I want to go, for as long as I want.”