Barbara Harper

For over two years, Barbara Harper put her ‘creaky’ knees to the back of her mind while she nursed her sick husband. By the time he died in 2016, a knee replacement was a priority but she was, understandably, far from keen to return to the hospital where she had recently spent so much time. Fortunately, a friend recommended Philip Chapman-Sheath…

‘Prior to my husband dying, I had been going into hospital every day to see him so I really couldn’t face going back there for an operation – but it was also clear that my knees had to be fixed. They would lock up completely while I was at the kitchen sink, or even in bed, and trying to free them up again was excruciating. I suppose I was on my feet a lot while I was looking after my husband and was doing all the things in the house that we previously would have shared. I had a stair-lift fitted but it had got to the stage where walking was an issue. I would shuffle along as if someone had bound my thighs together!

‘I’m a positive person and a great believer in just getting on with things, but I was getting desperate. I live alone, don’t have any family – and am a bit of a dinosaur in that I don’t have a computer  – so I need to be able to walk around the shops. Luckily, I had private health care insurance so, when a friend told me that Philip Chapman-Sheath had essentially saved her leg, I asked to be referred to him and to be treated at the private hospital.

‘It was such a success. I liked Philip as soon as I met him. He’s very jolly and has a great sense of humour, but when he took a look at my X-rays, he became quite serious. Eventually he said, “Do you realise that you’ve been walking around without a knee joint?”. Apparently, it had worn away completely! He also told me that my left knee was unstable – and I thought that was my good leg!

‘I had the right knee replaced first, in November 2017, and the left was done a year later. I feel as if I had the worst knees going and now I’ve got the best. Philip promised me that he would give me my life back, and he really has! He is a really lovely man, very approachable, and talked it all through with me in advance. I opted to have an epidural during both operations, rather than a general anaesthetic, so I witnessed first-hand just how knowledgeable he is and how well he works with his team too.

‘A total knee replacement is a major operation and the rate of recovery depends very much on the individual knee. I was in hospital for five days, and you do have to be patient, but you are also encouraged to use your new knee as soon as possible. I had physiotherapy the day after the first operation and, by the fifth day, I could already walk a few steps without crutches.

‘The second replacement was even more straightforward than the first; there was much less bruising and I felt able to get to my feet more quickly. Philip came to see me just two and a half days after the operation and I walked towards him without crutches. Even his jaw dropped!

‘I now have two dependable legs that I can rely on. That might sound a small thing to some people, but for me it has been life changing. Before, I couldn’t walk upstairs, now they’re no problem!’

‘According to the NHS, an acceptable range of bend in the knee is 75 degrees; physios say 110 degrees is normal, but I now have a 140-degree bend in both knees!

‘I’ve just turned 77 and the new knees are designed to last for 15 years, although they can last for over 20. I can also kneel on them and they have minimal scarring.

‘I spent years asking other people to slow down, while I shuffled behind them, so my one goal now is to hear someone say to me, “For heaven’s sake Barbara, slow down!”  I’m not quite there – these things take time – but I will be soon!’