Francesca Repetto
“Because I had my shoulders repaired, I was able to handle the fabric to make my granddaughter’s wedding gown.”
Francesca’s first experience with Orthopaedic & Spine Center of the Rockies was in 1998 when she started developing pain in her left arm. When her weakness started causing her to drop things, she decided to appoint Dr. FitzGibbons. The discovery: a major tear in the rotator cuff. “The tear was due to many years of wear and tear: carrying kids and carrying too many groceries.” Dr. FitzGibbons repaired Francesca’s tear, with the results being “perfectly successful.”
In 2002 Francesca’s fate led her back to OCR after she slipped on ice and tore both rotator cuffs. “It was a freak accident… Dr. FitzGibbons repaired both shoulders, five months apart.”
Francesca went on her way for several years. Still, when the pain in her knees became unbearable, she scheduled another appointment with Dr. FitzGibbons to discuss knee replacements, “The decision to have a knee replacement didn’t scare me at all. Pain is exhausting. It takes it out of you … I did what I had to do.”
Francesca had her first knee replacement in 2011, “I was on my feet the same day as surgery. At six months, I was still developing strength, but it gave me back my life.”
In 2012, Francesca had her other knee replaced, “I can walk normally. I can get in and out of the car. The pain is gone. I have stiffness but no pain. Nothing like what I was living with before.”
“I have more energy overall now that my shoulders and knees are fixed. I’m not dealing with pain anymore. I have a lot more things on my ‘to-do list.’ I volunteer at the hospital, and I make blankets for the Hope Cancer Center.” To add to Francesca’s post-operative successes, “Because I had my shoulders repaired, I was able to handle the fabric to make my granddaughter’s wedding gown.”
You’re not ready to climb Mount Everest. But you are ready to get back to the life you lived before your injury. OCR is here to support you on the road to recovery. From our outpatient surgery and recovery center to our physical therapy department and imaging, our entire team will care for you from head to toe to help you become the champion of your lifestyle.
