At 18, she survived a car accident that left her with a badly broken leg, setting off a long chain of surgeries and chronic pain. Over the years, those injuries shortened her left leg, altered her gait, and forced her other joints to overcompensate.
“I could tell the hip was starting to bother me, but it wasn’t really too bad at first. I just knew it was going to be in my future,” she said.
She held off on surgery as long as she could. “I was getting injections for a long time just to buy me some time until that wasn’t working anymore,” she explained.
As the years went on, the pain grew worse. For Natalie, who works as a medical assistant at South Bend Clinic (SBC), daily life became consumed by it. “Day-to-day was just absolutely miserable,” she said. “I’m on my feet all day in the clinic. It was miserable to stand, walk, or squat down for a patient. By the end of the day, I was physically exhausted and mentally drained.”
It all came to a breaking point after an injury while horseback riding. “That really sealed the deal,” she said. “I knew then surgery wasn’t just in my future — it had to be now.”
That’s when she turned to Joseph Statz, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at SBC.
“Meeting him, he’s just very nice, pleasant, personable right from the get-go,” she said. “He asks what’s going on, how it’s affecting your life, what’s your endgame. He tells you in detail what he can offer and what recovery time and expectations are. There’s never a question left unanswered.”
Natalie’s case had added complexity. Her past injuries had left one leg shorter than the other. She worried surgery might worsen the imbalance, but Dr. Statz listened closely and adjusted his approach to minimize the difference.
On the day of her hip replacement, she was up and walking within hours. “I could get up, sit down, lay down. For the first time in over a year, I could sleep well — not because of pain medication, but because the pain was gone,” she said.
She needed only a few days of prescription pain medication before switching to over-the-counter options. “He did an excellent job balancing me out,” she said. “Since the replacement, I haven’t had to take medicine for my usual arthritis aches. It’s honestly the best I’ve felt in years.”
Reflecting on the experience, Natalie grew emotional.
“For 32 years, I woke up with pain every single day,” she said. “To finally be able to sleep, wake up, and do whatever I want without worrying about how much it will hurt — it changed my life. I used to just work through the pain and tell myself life was good enough. Now it’s so much better.”
The real test came with her favorite hobby — motorcycling. “One of my biggest concerns was that I wanted to ride motorcycles again. It’s my right hip, and that’s the side I have to use to get over the bike. I wasn’t ready to give that up,” Natalie said.
Today, she rides pain-free and even shared a special moment of gratitude with her surgeon. “A few months ago, I told Dr. Statz, ‘I have to give you a hug.’”
She also credited Dr. Statz’s physician assistant, Gabriella Taylor, for the excellent follow-up care. “She’s there in surgery and in the office, so when you’re explaining how you feel or what’s going on, you know you’re talking to someone who truly understands your case firsthand — not just someone who learned it from a textbook. She was part of my procedure and recovery, which really gave me confidence and peace of mind.”
Looking back, Natalie is grateful for the decision she made.
“I don’t have to say ‘no’ to motorcycle rides, walks, or even just doing things around the house. There’s nothing I feel like I can’t do now.”
If chronic pain is keeping you from the activities you love, it’s time to take action. Call to schedule an appointment with a South Bend Clinic orthopaedist today.
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