I knew it had to be done.
Athletic injuries in his teens and 20's had finally caught up with him. Dr. Joe May put off having his left knee replaced for almost three years. One day while he was walking down the hall in his office he felt a lightening pain coming from his knee. In seconds it was too painful to walk. That's when he knew it was time to have his knee replaced.
"As a physician I knew I was going to have to have it replaced at some point. Dr. Schildwachter had told me I would know when it was time. After that day in the hall, I knew it was time. I called the doctor and told him to put me on the schedule."
Dr. May has spent his medical career caring for patients at Martha Jefferson, so he didn't hesitate when choosing his surgeon and choosing Martha Jefferson Hospital.
His surgery was uneventful, just as Dr. May expected it to be. Even before the surgery, he had his sights set on the rehabilitation phase of his knee replacement. He knew the secret to getting back to his normal life would be taking the post-operative rehab seriously and he knew he wanted to be aggressive. He altered his schedule in order to do rehabilitation twice a day.
"I have a trip to Wales planned. I'm building stamina, because I know I'll be doing a lot of walking -- without pain."