One step to surgery success

As a fully-qualified theatre dance teacher, who also taught swimming and exercise classes, Lesley Beck was used to an active life. So, it was a real concern for her when the pain in her right hip began to threaten that lifestyle.

Lesley, 67, first noticed the pain about four years ago, whilst living in Saudi Arabia with husband, Martin. “As a dancer, I’m used to aches and pains, and I thought I’d pulled a muscle in my inner thigh,” says Lesley, “but an orthopaedic specialist confirmed that my hip joint was damaged.”

In fact, all the cartilage in the joint had worn away and a hip replacement was the recommended course of action, but Lesley had reservations. “I was still living an active life, still teaching swimming, and I honestly thought I could soldier on, so that’s what I did.”

A year or so later, Lesley and Martin retired and left the Middle East. After spending some time travelling to visit friends and family, they settled in Lytham St Annes to be near their daughter.

“Everyone at Spire was pleasant, friendly and thoroughly professional. I couldn’t have asked for a more attentive consultant”

By then, Lesley had a pronounced limp and was using a walking stick. The pain was starting to have an impact on both her and Martin, preventing them from doing the walks and activities they wanted to do.

Lesley started to research hip replacement surgery. “People kept telling me it would be the best thing I’d ever do and I’d feel fantastic afterwards, but I was still unsure,” she says. “Because I’ve studied physiology, I think I maybe knew a little bit too much about it and it made me nervous.”

Her research led her to consultant Amit Shah at Spire Fylde Coast Hospital and she booked a consultation. Lesley recalls how it went: “As I walked into the room, he noticed my limp and, with a smile, said ‘We need to do something about that!’ He was very reassuring, and I made the decision there and then.”

Lesley’s operation was done in mid-April, a date she herself determined. A day after the procedure, she was on her feet and the physiotherapists arrived to help get her moving. Three days later, she went home.

“The whole experience was excellent,” she says. “Everyone at Spire was pleasant, friendly and thoroughly professional. I couldn’t have asked for a more attentive consultant; it was Mr Shah himself who rang Martin straight after the operation, to let him know it was a success.”

Fourteen weeks later and Lesley is swimming regularly and enjoying lots of lovely walks around Lancashire. In mid-July, she walked over eight miles whilst visiting the Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

“People were right, it is the best thing I ever did,” says Lesley. And when they ask her how she is since the operation? “Well, I tell them that I have good days, and I have very good days.”