Kelli McCarter recently hiked some Smoky Mountain trails to see the wildflowers – and to reclaim her life. It was March 2021 and less than a year after double knee replacement at Parkwest Medical Center. “Tears of absolute joy,” McCarter says when asked about the experience. “I was back in my element.”
McCarter’s home was destroyed in the Gatlinburg wildfires of 2016, so she and her husband lived in a travel trailer during rebuilding. There was a lot of climbing in and out and navigating a smaller living space. What had once been an occasional, nagging twitch of pain became more constant and more intense.
McCarter, 48, was much younger than most knee replacement patients. She had been active and athletic for as long as she could remember. She enjoyed hiking and even trail running five miles a day as an adult. Now she was off the trails and her life was off track.
Learn about her treatment plan: Covenant Health-Kelli McCarter-Ortho-July 2021