Hospital volunteer Lynn Kellum is back on her feet and thrilled about her great patient experience.
Kellum, 75, a volunteer at the front concierge desk, greets visitors and patients and escorts them to where they need to go. But when increasing pain from arthritis in her right hip became unbearable, she finally decided to move forward with a total hip replacement. And she chose to have it at Corona Regional.
Orthopedic Surgeon Ghassan Tooma, MD, was recommended to Kellum by several doctors and patients. “I told him I would let him know when the pain was too much for me to deal with, and we would schedule the surgery from there,” she says. She had her surgery on February 8, 2019, and stayed two nights. “Dr. Tooma explained everything to me before the surgery, and the surgical team took excellent care of me,” she says. “I barely needed any pain medication.”
Kellum had rehab in the hospital to get her up and moving before she was discharged, followed by in-home therapy visits and outpatient therapy. She recently had her follow-up appointment and learned that her hip was healed. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to be pain-free,” she says.
One thing that stands out for Kellum is the hospital community itself. “They are welcoming and work with each patient individually to see what their needs are and then take care of them. The doctors and nurses are awesome,” she says. “They are on top of it all.” Kellum also praises the hospital for everything they do for the people in the community. “This hospital has so much to offer, and the new ER is much bigger, and people can come and get treated more efficiently,” she states.
Kellum is very excited to get back to water aerobics, gardening and walking, along with returning to her volunteer job at the hospital. She does not hesitate to recommend Corona Regional to anyone. “Their follow up has been great, I had a wonderful experience, and there is nothing I would look back on and say it needs to be changed or improved,” she says. “Everything moves along like clockwork!”
Assessing Your Chronic Joint Pain
Dr. Tooma says if your joint pain is chronic and interfering with your daily life, you should consider having it evaluated. “Seeing an orthopedic doctor can help determine the cause and treatment options,” he says. “Once the patient has the answers, they can decide when they are ready to move forward with joint replacement surgery.”