How Is Your Quality of Life?

Benny was forced to face the facts – his quality of life was not good.

Thirty years ago when he was 24, Benny Brumley of Skiatook broke his leg, and his doctors said he would most likely develop arthritis in his knee. Benny didn’t think anything of it at the time, but as he entered his 40s, he began feeling some slight knee pain. Slowly over time, the pain got worse and worse. “As the pain intensified, my tolerance for it got higher,” he says. “A few years ago, my primary care physician referred me to an orthopedic surgeon, and I said I would look into it – but I never did. I thought I was too young for a knee replacement, and I didn’t want to have major surgery. I just kept putting it off.”

But the pain continued to worsen, and last year Benny’s wife, Laura, finally persuaded him to visit an orthopedic surgeon. They went to Dr. Ronald LaButti of Central States Orthopedic Specialists in Tulsa, who told Benny exactly what he did not want to hear – “You need a new knee.” Still, Benny was hesitant about having a knee replacement. He was finally won over when Dr. LaButti asked one question: “How is your quality of life?” Benny was forced to face the facts – his quality of life was not good. He was in pain all the time, he limped, and he could not last through even ten minutes of walking. Benny also thought about how his grandson had started walking with a fake limp to be like him. He was convinced, and scheduled the surgery for two weeks later.

“I liked that Dr. LaButti was straight to the point. He told me, ‘Do what I tell you, and you’ll be fine,’” Benny explains.

The first two weeks after the operation were a challenge. “When I went in for my two-week visit, Dr. LaButti said I had not progressed to quite where he wanted me to be. It sort of offended me,” Benny laughs. “So I worked really hard, and at the six-week visit, I smoked it.”

Now Benny is 100 percent pain free, and he has no limp at all. “My wife and I had to go to the mall recently, and we walked around the whole place without taking any breaks. Before, I would have found a bench after a few minutes. We also went to Fort Gibson Lake, and I asked her if she wanted to take a walk. She replied, ‘I’ve been waiting years for you to say that.’ This has truly been a life-changing event.”

He has always been an active person, and Benny says that now he is ten times more active than he ever was. “It’s unbelievable. I really should have done this a couple years ago.” He can now ride his motorcycle, go fishing on his bass boat, and go camping without pain. “It’s the little stuff you notice after you have it done, like climbing on a boat and walking around a campground – these are things I would not have done before.” Time with the family is also much more enjoyable; he and Laura have five children and 13 grandchildren.

Benny proudly served 32 years of active and reserve service for the United States Army, and achieved the highest enlisted rank, command sergeant major. As a field artilleryman, he was at one point the leader of 4,000 soldiers. Benny retired from the army in 2005, and his oldest son is currently serving in Iraq. Benny now travels the country working for a construction consulting firm.

Benny says that Dr. LaButti has characteristics that appeal to someone with a military background. “He is professional, polite, very punctual, and straight to the point. I liked that he basically said, ‘You can live this way, or you can live that way.’ I believe I had the best doctor in the state to do this. I really trusted him, and he didn’t let me down.”

For more information about Dr. LaButti, visit ­www.hipandkneedoc.com.

For more information, contact

Dr. Ronald S. LaButti Central States ­Orthopedic Specialists

6585 S. Yale, Ste. 200

Tulsa, OK 74136

(918) 481-2767

www.hipandkneedoc.com