It was four years ago after a car accident when Diana started experiencing life-altering pain. Looking for answers, she tried treatments like massage, but it wasn’t helping her regain her mobility. After pursuing a number of options to the cause, her family doctor referred her to the orthopedic group at Surrey Memorial Hospital. There, Diana soon learned she actually had a problem with her hip.
Previously fit and strong, she was struggling to walk with aid and being unable to get in and out of her car, Diana at 67 years old was growing frustrated. “I was spending half of my life sitting,” she says. “My spine shrunk over an inch.” Injection medication wasn’t helping, and she talked to her orthopedic group about getting surgery sooner than planned. 
That’s how Diana came to be Surrey Memorial’s first patient to have same-day surgery for a hip replacement using the new donor-funded Hana table. This specialized piece of equipment is used for anterior hip surgeries and allows for a minimally invasive approach, less pain and quicker recovery time.
As the only one of its kind in Fraser Health, this donor-funded piece of equipment is allowing doctors to expand their services, increase care and efficiency and help more patients where needed.
Diana is certainly grateful for the role the Hana table and her surgeons played in her life. With her surgery slotted at 10am, Diana was already up and walking with the aid of a walker at 2pm. Next came physiotherapy to show her how to prevent blood clots. Then just five hours after surgery, she was able to go home!
Diana describes the care she received as amazing. Staff were supportive, thoughtful and willing to find answers to her questions. Back at home, she was able to walk on her own without the walker after only three days. Today she is doing yoga again and can walk more than 2km. Feeling totally blessed when thinking of her experience at Surrey Memorial, Diana says, “If you have an opportunity to have Dr. Neufeld, you are a lucky person!”
