Scottsdale Healthcare Article about Mt. Kilimanjaro Climb
New hips help author conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro
Writer celebrates 60th birthday on seven-day climbing expedition to research new mystery novel
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Aug. 1, 2011) – Paradise Valley author Charles G. Irion didn’t let two artificial hips get in the way of his quest to conquer Africa’s Mt. Kilimanjaro last month. Irion re-booted his work hard, play hard lifestyle after consulting with orthopedic surgeon Stuart Kozinn, MD, who performed the hip replacement surgeries at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center.
Irion reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro on July 5 as part of a trip to do research for his upcoming novel, as well as volunteer in Tanzania on a medical mission and celebrate his 60th birthday. It was his first major climbing expedition since having both hips replaced at the Scottsdale Healthcare Total Joint Center.
Author of the Summit Murder Mystery Series, Irion is a former cross-country runner, motorcycle rider, hiker, skydiver and climber who experienced severe hip degeneration early in life.
Thinking he was far too young for hip replacement, Irion lived with the pain of his hip bones rubbing against each other due to the deterioration of their cushioning cartilage. For years, he limped and constantly shifted his weight to relieve the discomfort that frequently woke him at night.
At age 51, he decided to do something about the pain he’d been living with for nearly 20 years. Irion chose Dr. Kozinn, medical director of the Total Joint Center at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center, to replace one of his hips. Pleased with the results, he returned to Dr. Kozinn later to replace the other hip.
“I talked to a lot of my neighbors who are anesthesiologists, and everyone had a profound respect for Dr. Kozinn’s abilities and expertise. When I met with him, he matter-of-factly answered all of my questions and wasn’t pushy,” says Irion.
After living in pain for nearly two decades, Irion had lost a lot of flexibility needed for the rigorous activities he enjoys, which he regained with the help of therapy and rehabilitation through Scottsdale Healthcare’s Total Joint Center.
“I’m now free of pain. Hip replacement has been a Godsend,” he says. “Pain and the stress it causes can impact your quality of life and shorten your lifespan. If you spend years in pain, you don’t get that time back. There are multiple benefits to stepping up and doing something sooner rather than later,” he added.
Irion plans to use his experience from the Mt. Kilimanjaro expedition to gather details for the final novel in the Summit series, Murder on Kilimanjaro, and aims to make the storyline as authentic as possible. Irion climbed to 23,000 feet of Mt. Everest from the China side in 1987 and used his firsthand knowledge to write his first novel, Murder on Everest.
For more information about joint replacement surgery and the Total Joint Centers at Scottsdale Healthcare, visit www.shc.org/ortho or call 866-969-8526. For more information on Dr. Kozinn, visit www.scottsdalejointcenter.com.
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