Tim Hall – Shoulder Replacement Success Story

Stop shouldering the pain

Joint replacement at Methodist Richardson offers lasting relief

“I got all the arthritis in my family,” Tim Halls says.

The 45-year-old transplant from Montana has been in the culinary industry for the past 20 years. In that time, he perfected his Tim’s Texas Two Step barbecue sauce recipe — but also wore out his shoulders with heavy lifting and the repetitive motions of chopping, slicing, and stirring.

In 2008, Tim turned to Jeff Hamm, MD, orthopedic surgeon at Methodist Richardson Medical Center, for a tear in the muscle around his left shoulder. The arthritis Dr. Hamm found was so bad, he told Tim he’d be back in 10 years for shoulder replacement.

“I didn’t make it five years,” Tim says. “Every time my shoulder turned, it was like Rice Krispies, just snap, crackle, and pop.”

When you need a new shoulder

“My experiences at Methodist Richardson were the best I’ve had from any hospital. The nurses, the chaplain, the volunteers, the discharge planner — the extra care that was given to my wife and me on both experiences was undoubtedly, hands down the best.”

Tim realized the time for his new shoulder had arrived last spring, when he went out into the backyard to practice his golf swing and realized he could barely get the club back. He went to see Dr. Hamm, and his right shoulder replacement was scheduled for July 31, 2014.

“Any joint replacement is done when someone loses all his cartilage and has considerable pain that’s not compatible with living,” Dr. Hamm says.

The procedure requires a 4-inch incision and little disruption to the muscle. Patients spend one night in the hospital and then have limited movement for about six weeks before starting physical therapy.

Dr. Hamm says he normally does shoulder replacements on older patients, but at the same time, it’s not a procedure that should be put off.

“Shoulders should remain relatively pain-free for people all the time,” Dr. Hamm says. “If you do have pain or loss of motion, many times you’re developing damage that could be prevented. Our biggest problem is people waiting too long until the shoulder is destroyed, and then you can’t do anything, surgically or nonsurgically. Any pain lasting over a month or two should be evaluated.”

Life with a new joint

When Tim woke up after surgery, he said he could feel the difference in his shoulder already.

“It was probably the best procedure I’d ever had,” he says. “When Dr. Hamm came in, I looked at him and said, ‘I’m ready for the second one.’”

The left shoulder replacement followed on Nov. 20, 2014. With both surgeries, Tim was back to driving within 10 days and rarely needed his sling. He was able to quickly get back to cooking barbecue and using his passion to support local charities, like Homes for Our Troops and Habitat for Humanity.

“Just being healthy enough to do those things and not having to worry about aches and pains anymore is pretty big,” he says. “I never thought I would feel so much better after replacement surgery. It’s almost night and day. I know that my life is going to be better now.”

“My experiences at Methodist Richardson were the best I’ve had from any hospital. The nurses, the chaplain, the volunteers, the discharge planner — the extra care that was given to my wife and me on both experiences was undoubtedly, hands down the best.”

— Tim Halls

Does your shoulder sound like breakfast cereal, too?

Turn to Methodist Richardson’s shoulder joint replacement program, certified by The Joint Commission for its quality standards.