Provided/Cynthia (Cindy) Erickson gets a new knee through Operation Walk USA.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – On the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 5, Galloway Township resident Cynthia (Cindy) Erickson hobbled into the AtlantiCare Musculoskeletal Institute, then later in the day returned home with a brand new knee, ready to enjoy the holidays with her family and with a higher quality life than she has had in decades.
Her procedure, a robotic total replacement of the right knee, was performed at AtlantiCare at no cost to the Erickson family as part of Operation Walk USA. Held each December since 2011, Operation Walk USA enables orthopaedic surgeons and hospitals around the country to provide free joint replacement surgeries to uninsured patients who can’t afford them.
Erickson’s surgery was a collaborative effort supported by AtlantiCare, her surgeon Fabio Orozco, M.D. of Orozco Orthopaedics, and Stryker, manufacturer of the implants used in her total knee replacement.
This year marks the fourth year AtlantiCare has provided this amazing gift to a local resident by teaming up with Operation Walk to make sure a qualifying individual in need has access to the technology, professional capabilities, and exceptional care that allows them to get back on their feet quickly and successfully. For Erickson, the team was also able to provide her with an outpatient surgery, so she was home the same day.
“In a case like Cindy’s, other than her knee, her health and age made her a great candidate for a same-day knee replacement,” Dr. Orozco said. “Sadly, she’d been suffering since she was a teenager, but she felt a solution to the pain was out of reach because she didn’t have insurance to cover it. No one should live in pain or be limited in how they can live and enjoy their lives due to lack of access. We commend Operation Walk USA for expanding access nationwide and here in Atlantic County for connecting our neighbors like Cindy with AtlantiCare to receive high-tech surgery and award-winning care available right in their own back yard.”
For Erickson and her husband Phil, senior pastor of Jersey Shore Baptist Church, the surgery has been lifechanging. Even before the procedure happened, they felt a weight lifted from them physically and emotionally.
Coming into 2023, Erickson’s pain had gotten so bad, at times preventing her from moving her legs and controlling leg movements, the couple was planning on taking out a loan to pay for the necessary treatment. Then, Dr. Orozco informed them of assistance to start the process and encouraged Cindy to register as a perspective patient with Operation Walk USA.
“I just knew qualifying for the program was going to happen, I trusted God and knew,” Ericson said. “We didn’t have to take out a loan and are just so grateful for that. Being accepted for Operation Walk was the answer to our prayers. And Dr. Orozco is just so positive, he’s made me feel comfortable throughout this whole process and alleviated me being scared about the operation.”
Cindy is one of an estimated 40 patients who will receive free joint replacements in December 2023 and into early 2024 through Operation Walk USA. These surgeries will be performed by more than 25 orthopaedic surgeons at 20 hospitals around the country.
Following a bad car accident, Erckson began experiencing arthritis pain around age 17. After multiple falls through the years and as her knee advanced toward end-stage arthritis, that pain got progressively worse until, finally, at age 59 on Dec. 5 she had the surgery at AtlantiCare that changed the game for her. Her surgery and post-surgery care team, including Dr. Orozco, considered the total knee replacement surgery a success as they helped her out of the AtlantiCare Musculoskeletal Institute in Egg Harbor Township on her way home. They are also confident with proper follow-up therapy she’ll find it lifechanging and soon be back to doing things she hasn’t been able to do pain-free, or at all, for years.
With her new knee, she also looks forward to being able to do even more as a volunteer for the Jersey Shore Baptist Church Academy, participating in more activities with her grandchildren, and celebrating her milestone 60th birthday and 40th wedding anniversary in 2024.
