Making the jump to live pain free
Ray Steadmon
Nov, 2020
Physicians: Jeffrey Postma, DO
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Jumping out of planes is a bittersweet memory for 62-year-old, Ray Steadmon. When he joined the United State Army 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper at the age of 18, he had no idea how much it would affect his joints later in life.
“Back then my only concern was to jump and land safely on the ground,” said Ray. “I had an 80-pound gear bag that hung in front of me, which I believe is the root cause of my pain.”
As the owner of a local bowling alley, Ray spends a lot of time on his feet running the business while also an avid bowler himself. Over time, simple tasks slowly became more challenging.
“I visited a doctor at another local hospital to see if he could help me, but he kept avoiding surgery and prescribing medications to ease the pain,” said Ray. “I expressed my concern to a family friend, and she recommended I visit Dr. Postma.”
Ray contacted orthopedic surgeon, Jeffrey Postma, DO, and scheduled an appointment at Community Bone and Joint in Coloma to discuss his options.
“I liked Dr. Postma right off the bat,” said Ray. “He got down on my level and didn’t rush through my appointment like I was just another patient.”
Dr. Postma took an x-ray and discovered that both of Ray’s knees had become bone-on-bone. He would need to have them replaced in order to live pain free again.
As the sole operator of a bowling alley, Ray couldn’t afford to have both knees replaced at once which would cause him to be off work for an extended period of time. Since the bowling alley is only open during certain months of the year, he decided to have the surgeries a year apart so he could recover during the months his business was closed.
In April of 2019 Ray had surgery to replace his left knee at Lakeland Hospital Watervliet.
“When my wife and I showed up at the hospital that morning, they immediately took me upstairs to get prepped,” said Ray. “The surgery was successful, and I was able to go home the next day.”
At one of Ray's follow-up appointments at Community Bone and Joint, Carly Reising, PA, noticed that his knee was more swollen than usual and immediately called Dr. Postma for assistance.
“I really appreciated that she didn’t sweep it under the rug,” said Ray. “She knew this wasn’t normal and took action.”
Ray’s second knee surgery was scheduled for April 2020. Unfortunately, it needed to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I wasn’t sure if the bowling alley would be able to open later this year, so I was concerned that I wouldn’t have enough time to heal before then,” said Ray. “Thankfully, the office was able to reschedule my surgery as soon as they could.”
Ray had his second surgery in May and began physical therapy once a week at Lakeland Rehabilitation in Coloma.
“My physical therapist, Mindy Shannon, was very attentive at my appointments,” said Ray. “She told me what area of the knee I needed to focus on each week to ensure I had a speedy recovery.”
Ray looks forward to bowling and hiking with his wife when he fully heals.
“I saw a quote once that said, ‘The goal in life is not to arrive at the grave in a well-preserved body,’ and I’ve lived by it ever since,” said Ray. “It’s guys like me that need Dr. Postma to put us back together. I’d definitely visit him again if I ever needed another orthopedic surgery.”