Tom Crampton: Total Joint Knee Replacement

"I was pleasantly surprised to be up and walking only three hours after my surgery."

Tom Crampton of Lake Columbia may have retired in 2013, but he had no plans to slow down.

“I had been officiating high school sports for the last 40 years and wished to continue officiating football with my crew,” Tom said.

Tom originally had surgery in 1975 to repair his left knee’s ACL and a torn meniscus. The procedure was a success and allowed Tom to continue to play sports. After that, he began officiating sports. But all that activity finally took its toll on Tom’s knee, eroding the cartilage until it was bone on bone.

The increasing pain in his left knee over 15 years required Tom to keep upping his use of anti-inflammatory medications. Dealing with the chronic pain and mobility issues caused a gradual decrease in Tom’s active life style. Tom said, “I had knee injections to get me through officiating the 2016 football season, but I knew I needed to do more.”

That’s when Tom decided to consider surgery.

“I talked with people I knew who had recent knee surgery and they recommended Timothy Ekpo, DO, at Henry Ford .”

Tom and his wife Coleen appreciated Dr. Ekpo’s honesty and the way he fully explained not only Tom’s surgery, but also details about his post-op care, the need for physical therapy and the long-term recovery process. Feeling well informed, Tom was able to prepare for his surgery with confidence, but there was one thing that took him off guard.

“I was pleasantly surprised to be up and walking only three hours after my outpatient surgery. Within a total of ten hours, I was home again. Amazing!” Tom said.

“I waited too long to get my knee repaired. My left leg muscles had atrophied and compensated so long for my immobility and pain that they had to be completely retrained during the physical therapy process.” But by five months after the surgery, Tom regained full movement minus the pain. He began walking three to six miles daily and has not had to take any pain or anti-inflammatory medications for close to a year.

“Now that my recovery is complete, I can return to my normal active life style of 15 years ago without any pain,” Tom said, smiling.

Tom is once again officiating high school football. He completed a full season—23 games—in fall 2017, just eight months after surgery.

Tom is pleased to report: “I am planning another full football officiating schedule this fall. Bring on Year 42!”