Last fall, Vista resident Laurel Carlson was walking the rice fields of Northern California hunting pheasant. It was then that he decided he could no longer live with the chronic pain of a deteriorating hip.

He didn't want to spend nights alternating between the bed and couch every two hours because of the hip pain. And when the retired fireman couldn't walk across the street earlier this year to help neighbors respond to reports of a fire, he knew his decision to have a hip replaced by Dr. James Helgager at Tri-City Medical Center was the right one.

Dr. Helgager replaced Laurel's left hip and six weeks later, Laurel was confident he could "jog down the street, although I'm not sure how far!" Regardless of his prospects for taking up distance running at the age of 75, Laurel is immensely proud of the mile he walks every morning without the use of a cane.

"I'm like a kid with new boots - I've just got to tell everybody," says Laurel. "And I tell people with joint pain that if they're worried about their future lifestyle but also fear the pain of hip replacement, believe me, the pain is far less and the improved lifestyle is so much more than they will ever dream possible."

For a patient education brochure on hip replacement, call
(760) 940-5788.