Impressions
Don ’ t Wait Too Long by Dr . Stephen T . Radack III , Editor
As we begin this new year , 2024 , I can ’ t help but think back to the start of last year and two very different journeys I was about to embark on that would lead to two life altering places by the close of 2023 . I ’ ll start off by sharing that neither was some catastrophic event that happened . One was physical and the other was professional .
First , my Professional Journey ! I had known when the year started that I would retire from clinical practice . I had been lucky enough to sell my practice in 2018 and merge it with the purchasing dentist . I had a three-year contract with him , but I was already into the fifth year working in the new practice . I started tapering back my hours last January and planned to retire on the anniversary of the merger ( the best possible practice transition in my opinion ) at the end of May . My longest serving staff member also planned to retire at the same time and thought this would be a good way to go out . The practice owner was in negotiations with an associate to “ take my place ” ( as if that would be possible ), but she would not be able to start until the middle of July . He asked me to stay a month longer , and I was more than happy to help him out .
June 29 was my last day after 37 years of practice .
It has been six months , and I can say that I don ’ t miss it at all . I do miss the staff and seeing the patients , but not the work . I won ’ t say that I was burned out , but I felt that every day I was enjoying the actual work less . I also believe we are in the best profession and that there is no other profession that can do what we do every day .
I encourage any of you who are thinking about retiring and are financially capable of doing so to take that leap and do it . I would not want to continue to practice and get to a place where I dreaded walking in the door every morning . Honestly , I have seen too many people over the years who hate their jobs but keep going mostly out of a fear of the unknown . If you would take that step and then find you “ miss ” dentistry , there are plenty of opportunities to practice in Pennsylvania these days . Just look in the classified ads in this journal .
I also traveled a Physical Journey ! I had been having issues with my hips since 2019 and had seen an orthopedic surgeon and done physical therapy , which helped . Arthritis is a real bear when it flares up . Now , some who know me may think my dancing may have been a contributing factor to this condition . Well , I don ’ t know about that . I would say walking up and down the steps from my office in the basement to treat patients upstairs multiple times each day the last five years may be a more likely cause . No matter the cause , when just walking and sleeping are painful then it is time to find a better solution .
Last January , I visited a second orthopedic surgeon , and he confirmed arthritis in both hips and basically laid out that I would need hip replacement in both , but it would be me deciding the timeline . Yikes ! I was only 61 and my hips were shot . A month after that diagnosis I decided to try cortisone shots to see if I might get some relief . Unfortunately for me , it was a very short-term solution and I needed to make the decision that it was time to get a hip replacement . But which one ? Eeny , meeny , miny , moe … which hip would be first ? I actually had my right hip scheduled and then changed several weeks before surgery to the left hip since that one seemed to be worse at the time .
For those of you who have had robotic assisted joint replacement , you know that it is almost routine now . I went to the hospital at 6:00 a . m . and walked in my front door by 5:00 p . m . that same day . Heck , I was even able to walk upstairs and sleep in my own bed that night . I followed all my pre- and post-op instructions like a good patient and was walking pain free a week later , with just a cane !
At my post-op visit six weeks later I requested the right hip be done ASAP . There is a three-month wait to do a second one , so four months to the day of my first replacement , the right one was also done and the results are the same . If you are suffering and know a replacement is in your future , I can absolutely say don ’ t put it off . The surgery is really life changing and the discomfort from the arthritic hips was immediately gone !
So I sit here the second day of the year with two titanium hips , pain free and ready to truly enjoy the next chapter of life after practice . There are grandchildren to chase , bikes to ride , golf to be played , beaches to be walked on and anything else my wife can think of that we need to do . I can ’ t wait , and would encourage anyone to “ don ’ t wait too long ,” whether it is a joint replacement or retirement !
— STR3
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2024 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 5