News
Return of elective surgery a welcome relief for patient
Date posted: 6/9/2020
Last updated: 6/9/2020
Bob Wernes had hoped to receive his much needed hip replacement surgery on March 25.
Instead, Wernes, 68, of Cedar Lake, had to wait over two months, until Thursday, due to COVID-19 state regulations, which placed restrictions on elective surgery.
Wernes, a lifelong active guy who wants to return to doing carpentry, said he's been living with hip and back pain that requires him to take daily pain medication.
"I kind of waited. I should have gotten this done a long time ago. I tried to delay it as long as I could," Wernes said of the surgery.
On Friday morning, the day after his surgery, Wernes was up and walking at the hospital and upbeat: "They told me I did really good." After Wernes completes physical therapy at his home, he has plans to return to carpentry projects for customers he couldn't get to before.
"I've got a few jobs people are waiting for me to get to," Wernes said.
Dr. Denis Nam, a joint replacement surgeon for Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, said Wernes came to him at the Munster office for his first visit at the end of February.
X-rays determined Wernes' had two bad hips, but his right hip was the worst and needed to be replaced first.
