» Woman regains mobility

By Melody Gillard-Juarez
Special to the Western World
Friday, June 19, 2009 | No comments posted. She’s back romping and kite-flying on the beach with grandchildren, and on a recent weekend, she hiked to Golden and Silver Falls.

Vicki Sanders recently had total knee replacement surgery at Bandon’s Southern Coos Hospital, and says she couldn’t be happier.

“There aren’t enough good words to describe the care I got,” Sanders said. “It was a positive experience. The staff was wonderful, professional, kind. It was a different experience from being in a big hospital. It was more comfortable, more at home.”

Dr. Shaun Hobson and Dr. Jason Bell, both orthopedic surgeons with South Coast Orthopaedic Associates, are now scheduling several types of surgeries at Southern Coos Hospital and Health Center in Bandon, including knee and hip replacements and shoulder surgery.

Hobson had performed a right knee partial replacement for Sanders at Bay Area Hospital in 2006.

This time, while arranging a full replacement on her left knee, Hobson asked if she would like to have her surgery in Bandon. “I was thrilled with the chance to have it here, and I was able to schedule the surgery a month earlier because it was here,” Sanders said. “My family was happy because they could visit without driving to Coos Bay. I knew Ardis (Rock) and Terry (Chandler, members of the nursing staff at Southern Coos), and I just loved them. It’s nice to go where you know people.”

Sanders, who many people know as Vicki May from her days as a teller at Sterling Savings Bank and the woman at the front reception area when she worked for the city of Bandon, said she found this surgery easier than her first. A little over a week after the surgery, she was well on the mend.

“This one is so much easier,” she said. “I’m really kind of surprised. I’m doing great. The only pain I have is just the healing. I can tell it’s going to be wonderful. I’ll be able to keep up with the kids.”

That’s a good thing, because camping season is at hand, and family members enjoy that activity together. They have two granddaughters, age 12 and 11, and a grandson, age 5. Sanders and her husband, Ken, who works at Heritage Place, moved to Bandon five years ago.

They first visited in 1992 and “hadn’t been in town for five minutes” before buying a lot on Seabird Lane. They showed photos to other family members, and “they all moved up here before we did.” Her mother is Maxine Kessler and Vicki is the niece of the late Michael Vickery, who spearheaded early efforts to restore the Coquille River lighthouse. Vicki said he would be “absolutely thrilled with the work done on the lighthouse.”

The surgical staff at Southern Coos had assisted Dr. Michael Ivanitsky in similar surgeries until 2007, and welcomes the opportunity to work with the two surgeons from South Coast Orthopaedics. Patients can speak directly with the surgeons at their Coos Bay offices, 266-3600, to arrange procedures in Bandon. More information is available on their Web site, www.scoastortho.com. (Melody Gillard-Juarez is director of the Southern Coos Health Foundation and a former newspaper editor and writer.)