From Bone-on-Bone Pain to a New Lease on Life: Steven’s Story

For years, Steven Gullett pushed through the pain.

As a contractor who remodels homes, flips houses, and travels for physically demanding work, slowing down wasn’t really an option. But arthritis in both knees was gradually taking away the things he loved most, not just his work, but his hobbies, his independence, and his quality of life.

“It affects everything,” Steven said. “I couldn’t even walk around Pike Lake without my legs stiffening up. I couldn’t walk through Walmart and back out before my knees would lock up.”

Like many patients with advanced arthritis, Steven spent years trying conservative treatments first. Cortisone injections helped for a while, but eventually they stopped providing relief.

“The last set of shots did nothing for me,” he recalled. “I’m like, wow. That’s it. What’s the point of taking a painful shot that doesn’t do anything good for you?”

Outside of work, Steven enjoys fishing, mushroom hunting, traveling with his wife, and spending time outdoors. But as his knee pain worsened, even those simple pleasures became difficult.

“I was miserable,” he said. “People don’t understand how much of your life you lose. I’d go work out of town for a month or two, come home, and my wife would say, ‘You don’t want to go do anything?’ And I’d tell her, ‘My legs hurt. I need to rest up before I go back to work.'”

Eventually, Steven knew it was time to consider knee replacement surgery.

Steven was referred to Dr. Brian Cohen by a trusted orthopedic provider who had treated both him and his wife for years.

When he met Dr. Cohen, what stood out most was his honesty.

“He was a very straightforward person, and I like honesty,” Steven said. “You want to be able to trust him. He seemed like he knew exactly what he was doing.”

Steven also appreciated that Dr. Cohen evaluated him as an individual. While many people warned him against replacing both knees at the same time, Dr. Cohen determined he was a good candidate for bilateral knee replacement.

“Everybody was telling me don’t get both knees done at the same time,” Steven said. “But after checking everything, they said there was really no reason I couldn’t. I wanted them both done and over with.”

For Steven, having one surgery and one recovery period made sense for both his work schedule and his lifestyle.

Steven underwent bilateral knee replacement surgery with Dr. Cohen in December.

Like many first-time surgical patients, he felt a little overwhelmed leading up to the procedure.

“I’d never had surgery before,” he said. “There were a lot of things I didn’t know, but overall it wasn’t bad.”

The first couple of weeks required patience and support from his wife, but after that, his recovery progressed quickly.

“I walked back into the office two months after surgery without a cane,” Steven said. His progress surprised even people around him.

“I was working out in Missouri on a guy’s house, and he told me, ‘If you didn’t tell me you had surgery, I would’ve never noticed.'”

By three months after surgery, Steven was back to work.

“My recovery time was amazing,” he said. “I was working within three months of my surgery.”

Today, Steven is back to doing the things he loves.

He fishes. He travels. He goes mushroom hunting. He works on houses. He enjoys festivals and fairs with his wife. Most importantly, he can simply walk without constantly thinking about his knees.

“One of the greatest things is just being able to walk, period,” he said.

While he occasionally experiences minor soreness, it’s nothing compared to the arthritis pain he lived with before surgery.

“Ninety percent of the time, I get up and go and don’t even realize I had knee surgery.”

The difference has been so significant that Steven describes it in life-changing terms.

“It changed my life,” he said. “It took 20 years off my life. I feel 20 years younger.”

When asked how he would rate his care from Dr. Cohen, his answer was immediate. “I’d give it a 10.”

And when friends or family ask about knee replacement surgery?

“You’re going to get healed fast,” he said. “I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him.”

Looking back, Steven says the impact of surgery reaches far beyond his knees.

“I didn’t realize how much I was missing out on until after it was fixed,” he said. “Now I can come home from work and do what I want. I can work on the house, clean the pool, go fishing, go mushroom hunting. Anything.”

For Steven, knee replacement wasn’t just about reducing pain, it was about getting his life back.