Bobby and Roberta Gregory
Bobby Gregory’s knees had bothered him for years. But the 70-year-old Kosciusko county farmer was hesitant to go through surgery – until the pain interrupted his favorite activities. “I do a lot of hunting at night, out in the woods,” says Bobby. “After awhile my knees got so bad that was afraid I couldn’t get myself back out of the woods. I’d be back there by myself, and they’d start hurting bad.”
He’d heard of Fort Wayne Orthopedics through friends. “I really didn’t know of any [orthopedic doctors], but heard The Orthopedic Hospital was a great place to go.” He called FWO and they set him up with an appointment with Dr. Kolettis.
“When I talked with him, I felt really comfortable,” Bobby says. Dr. Kolettis told him that he needed a knee replacement on both knees. “He looked at my knees and told me that it was bone on bone,” he recalls. Dr. Kolettis offered the option of doing both surgeries at the same time, but Bobby decided to schedule surgery on the right knee and consider the left later.
“It used to be I’d walk a ½ mile down the road and I’d have to stop about four times, because they hurt so bad. Now I can go a mile without stopping.”
“It worked out great,” he says. “Dr. Kolettis did a great job.” Within weeks, he was hunting again, and that’s when he noticed how much his left knee still bothered him. “After my first surgery, I got about a mile back in the woods and it was hurting really bad. I knew I had to get the other one done.”
Bobby had a second knee replacement on his left knee in December 2014. He says the second surgery was easier than the first. “It seemed like it recovered faster. I worked at it. If I’m not walking a lot during the day, I do my therapy.” After his second surgery, he met all his physical therapy goals in four weeks.
Thanks to successful surgeries and diligent therapy, Bobby feels renewed. “Both knees are doing really good. I’m walking at least ¾ mile day now, and they don’t hurt. It used to be I’d walk a ½ mile down the road and I’d have to stop about four times, because they hurt so bad. Now I can go a mile without stopping.”
Even Bobby’s wife Roberta was impressed. She’d injured her knee nearly 10 years ago and struggled with pain ever since. She decided to consult Dr. Kolettis and also underwent a knee replacement – with great results.
“I was in so much pain before and in 12 weeks I was pain free,” she says. “I work as a housekeeper at a nursing home, and the whole nursing staff was amazed that I was able to go back to work so soon. Especially since I’m on my feet, walking around all day. They were really impressed.”
“I was in so much pain before and in 12 weeks I was pain free. I work at a nursing home, and the whole nursing staff was amazed that I was able to go back so soon after my surgery.”
The Gregorys grateful for FWO and Dr. Kolettis’ expertise. “We really appreciate the fact that we found a surgeon that went the extra mile for us,” says Roberta. She knows she’ll need surgery on her other knee eventually – but she knows where to turn when the time comes. “People ask us where we went, and we always tell them about Dr. Kolettis and Fort Wayne Orthopedics.”
