Dennis York thought he’d go his entire life without a surgery until he fell between a dock and truck working at Pepsi Cola and injured his shoulder. “This injury was about 12-14 years ago, and it was my first experience with Central Indiana Orthopedics,” Dennis said. “I couldn’t even pick my arm up, and once I saw Dr. Marshall Trusler, he told me I had an awful tear and needed surgery.”
Since then, Dr. Trusler has retired, but Dennis still goes around telling people that Dr. Trusler “fixed him up brand new” and brags about how good his shoulder feels. “I joke that I have a 20-year-old’s arm on a 75-year-old’s body,” Dennis said. “It’s so strong. I do chin-ups, and I’m very active.”
One of Dennis’ favorite hobbies is playing pickleball, something he picked up in his retirement after working at Pepsi for over 50 years. But Dennis has always been active, playing baseball and other sports until he was 52 years old. When his right hip started hurting after a lot of wear and tear on his body over the years, he began researching who to seek for treatment. “Living in Muncie, I thought it would be too much hassle driving back and forth to Indy to see a specialist,” Dennis said. “I decided to roll the dice and looked up Dr. Ryan Cieply at CIO.” It’s a choice Dennis is glad he made.
While Dr. Cieply discovered that Dennis had severe arthritis in his right hip and it needed to be replaced, he didn’t push surgery on Dennis. “He left the decision up to me, but when I knew I couldn’t take the pain any longer, I decided to have the surgery,” Dennis said. “Then just 3-4 years later, my left hip needed replaced and within two months after that replacement, I was back to playing pickleball.”
But that wasn’t the end of Dennis’ journey with CIO. While being treated for his hip, Dennis also presented with pain in his left knee, and after imaging, Dr. Cieply identified a small meniscus tear. But Dennis chose to leave it alone and try conservative treatments since it wasn’t causing him much pain, just soreness. However, last August while Dennis was playing pickleball, he twisted his left knee and felt an immediate pop. While he tried to finish out the match, instead he had to be helped out in a wheelchair. “This time, I made an appointment with Dr. Chae and within a month after my knee arthroscopy, I was playing pickleball again,” Dennis said. “I’m an active guy and like to stay fit. Anytime I needed a surgery, my mindset was always to get back to being active.”
“If I could give advice to anyone needing surgery, I’d tell them not to quit on themselves, no matter their age, because Central Indiana Orthopedics can fix them up and get them back in the game,” Dennis said. “I’m 75 years old and do things that 35-year-olds don’t do – I’m very satisfied.”
Dennis is a perfect example of a patient who was determined to get back to doing what he loves – something that CIO strives to accomplish with all our patients, and we are thankful that Dennis chose us for his orthopedic needs. Here’s to many more years of playing competitive pickleball, Dennis!
Hear Dennis’ story below, or learn more about CIO’s comprehensive services at ciocenter.com/services/.