Chyrese Newman, RN, has more than a decade of nursing experience under her belt.
For the past eight years, she has worked with a group of orthopedic surgeons at University of Utah Health. Her job is to help care for knee and hip joint replacement patients as they prepare for and recover from surgery.
While she is very familiar with joint replacement surgery, she’s not used to being the patient.
Newman, who is 51 years old, has had trouble with her knee for most of her life. The pain first started over 30 years ago.
A knee arthroscopy showed signs of early arthritis. She then unknowingly fractured a bone in her joint after taking up running for exercise. The problems and discomfort continued from there, and her arthritis got worse over the ensuing years.
Knee issues are common in her family. Newman’s parents, two brothers, and a sister have had knee replacements.
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“Some people have Nordstrom knees,” she said. “My family and I have Kmart knees.”
The past five years have been particularly painful, and Newman couldn’t be active with her family. Even a short walk around the block was too much for her knee. She had regular cortisone injections in her knee to help manage the pain. After more than four years of injections, she knew it was time.
“I think you know when you’re ready,” she said. “When I got to the point where my knee pain was affecting my everyday life, and I couldn’t do the things I wanted to do, I knew I couldn’t live like that anymore.”
Newman had surgery on December 19, 2024. Her surgeon, Jeremy Gililland, MD, specializes in adult reconstructive orthopedic surgery of the hip and knee. Unlike most patients, Newman knew her surgeon long before she had her own surgery. For the past eight years, she and Gililland have worked together at the University Orthopaedic Center.
“As a patient, it’s pretty unique to work alongside your surgeon before your own surgery, helping other patients,” Newman said. “But Dr. Gililland is the best, and I’m so glad he and his team were able to operate on my knee.”
During surgery, Gililland removed Newman’s damaged knee cartilage and replaced the injured joint with an artificial replacement constructed of titanium, chrome cobalt, and polyethylene. Studies show that the materials used in joint replacement surgery can last for many decades.
Gililland and his team perform knee replacement surgery on patients that range from 30 to 100 years old.
“It’s a full range of ages,” he said. “Chyrese is a little younger than our average patient, in terms of age. But we aren’t afraid to do a knee replacement in younger folks who have bad disease, thanks to the materials we use and how long they last.”
While the surgery was a total success, recovering from total joint replacement surgery is not easy. Newman knew this from seeing patients after surgery, but experiencing it herself brought a much deeper level of understanding.
“For the first little bit after surgery, I will admit I wasn’t sure if I was better off than before,” she said. “There is definitely a learning curve during those first six weeks after surgery.”
After surgery, Newman started intensive physical therapy to regain her range of motion and build strength. Her hard work paid off.
“There is life now,” she said. “For a minute after surgery, there’s not. But you work hard and make it through, and things just get better and better. It’s definitely worth it.”
Although Newman could always relate with her patients, now that she has had her own knee replacement, she has a level of empathy she didn’t have before.
“I didn’t have to have a knee replacement to know it would be tough,” she said. “Patients share things about how they are feeling, and you believe them, but once you’ve been through it, you can help them more.”
Now, nine months post-surgery, Newman can do everything she needs—and wants—to do. She is able to walk, hike, and stay active with her husband and kids. She is strong enough to ride a horse again, something she wasn’t able to do for several years because of her knee. Best of all, she doesn’t think about her knee all of the time.
“In the years leading up to my surgery, my knee was always on my mind because of how painful it was,” she said. “It’s so nice to have some relief from that pain and have a functional knee again after all this time.”
“There is life now,” she said. “For a minute after surgery, there’s not. But you work hard and make it through, and things just get better and better. It’s definitely worth it.”
Although Newman could always relate with her patients, now that she has had her own knee replacement, she has a level of empathy she didn’t have before.
“I didn’t have to have a knee replacement to know it would be tough,” she said. “Patients share things about how they are feeling, and you believe them, but once you’ve been through it, you can help them more.”
Now, nine months post-surgery, Newman can do everything she needs—and wants—to do. She is able to walk, hike, and stay active with her husband and kids. She is strong enough to ride a horse again, something she wasn’t able to do for several years because of her knee. Best of all, she doesn’t think about her knee all of the time.
“In the years leading up to my surgery, my knee was always on my mind because of how painful it was,” she said. “It’s so nice to have some relief from that pain and have a functional knee again after all this time.”