Larry Bishop & Cynthia Forsman – Orthopaedics

Knee replacements help couple live life to the fullest

Several years ago knee pain kept Grand Rapids residents Larry Bishop and Cynthia Forsman, in their late 60’s, from doing many of the activities they enjoyed.

Larry said his knees wore out building nine new houses as well as lots of physical labor in the car business. Cynthia, a registered nurse, was formerly the chief transplant coordinator for the Multi-Organ Transplant Center at the University of Minnesota Hospitals. She then traveled nationally as a hospital consultant. She has had a Rheumatoid Arthritis condition affecting her back and knees for over 40 years.

“We like to dance fast to country and rock ‘n roll music and my knees would get so out of joint that I could hardly walk,” Larry said. “It got so bad that we had to quit dancing. I took pain pills and lots of cortisone shots until it got to the point where I needed to have surgery.”

With an auto mechanic and car salesman background, Larry continues to pursue his passion for vintage cars today. One of their favorite activities is the annual Swap Meet and Car Show in Grand Rapids.

“Two years ago, I was using a cane and had to sit in the car as my knees couldn’t take walking around the Itasca County fairgrounds with Larry,” Cynthia said. “But this year we both spent three full days walking around to view the cars and antiques.”

In 2016, Cynthia had both knees replaced by Dr. Erik Severson with Minnesota Center for Orthopaedics at Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin. Larry had total knee replacements at Riverwood in December 2016 and February 2017.

“It took Dr. Severson only 31 minutes to do my last knee replacement and he said it went perfectly,” Larry explained. “I was able to do complete revolutions on the therapy bike pedals just two weeks after my surgery, much to the surprise of my physical therapist in Grand Rapids.”

Cynthia added: “The Rapid Recovery pain management program Dr. Severson uses is tremendous. The recovery time for both of us was amazing. We felt cared for like family by the whole orthopaedic team, including scheduling, nursing and the orthopaedic physician assistants, Matt Fleming and Tom Lewandowski.”

Cynthia and Larry are loving their pain-free knees and all that they can do now, including dancing to all the fast tunes and caring for a 40×60-foot vegetable garden. After four years on the sidelines, Larry is looking forward to going deer hunting again this fall.

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