Tracy Spotts, 46, of rural Monroe, Wisconsin, has been active her whole life.
An athlete into college, she later became a wife and mom of two energetic boys. She’s also a softball pitching coach and business owner who is always on the move.
When pain in her left hip began around five years ago, Spotts didn’t have much downtime to figure out what it was stemming from.
“I just had kept thinking I could ‘fix’ the issue with massages, chiropractic care, stretching, exercising,” Spotts said. “All of that helped, but never solved my issues.”
In August 2023, Spotts reached a point where it was time to get answers.
After multiple x-rays, an MRI and a final Cortisone® shot, surgery was the only option to alleviate the pain. Spotts was not expecting that reality to be met with resistance.
“Being considered ‘too young’ to need this surgery, there was some resistance and general advice by other health care providers to hold off as long as I could,” she explained. “For me, it was way more important to have the quality of life I needed, wanted, and deserved sooner than later with no more waiting.”
While Spotts valued those providers’ opinions, pain was limiting her in every part of her life – down to the simplest daily tasks.
“I couldn’t vacuum my house, bend down to pick up my dog’s toys, climb the football bleachers for my sons’ games, or demonstrate for my pitching students without being immobile the next day, or simply stand for more than five minutes,” she said. “I was avoiding my life, not living it.”
Once Spotts knew that surgery was her end goal, Dr. Jonathan Swindle was her first choice for care.
“We have sons the same age and I knew he would understand how important it was for me to be present for my family … that I needed to get back to being whole,” she said. “Aside from that, I knew his reputation of success, precision and fixing problems.”
When Spotts met with Dr. Swindle for the first time, he listened as she shared her full story.
After reviewing her x-rays, he was supportive of Spotts’ decision for surgery.
“Dr. Swindle reassured my husband and I of the start-to-finish process and shared that his goal was to get me back to living again,” she said.
Spotts’ hip replacement surgery was on January 18, 2024, and was an amazing success.
“I was back working during my busy time that demands me to drive 30,000 miles in my car a year,” Spotts shared. “My physical therapy sessions with Amanda had me back in action.”
As the months passed, her right hip started to pinch in the same way the left one had.
“I felt like I had been cut in half,” she said. “My replacement was pain free, but the other side was showing its anger.”
At her six-month follow up, Spotts and Dr. Swindle began the process for her right hip replacement. Pieces began falling into place quickly.
“I was so grateful to nurse Marilyn, who’s also a longtime family friend, for answering all my questions in MyChart and for the entire ortho team who did everything needed to proceed without fail when insurance was being challenging,” she said.
Spotts’ full circle moment came the day of her second hip replacement surgery on January 8, 2025.
As Spotts waited to go into the operating room, the door opened. Andrea, the mom of one of her pitching students, walked in as a nurse who was to be with her all the way through surgery.
“I almost cried because that connection gave me such comfort and Andrea reassured me that she’d be there the whole time,” Spotts said.
In the middle of the night after surgery, Spotts and her overnight nurse, Dana, were talking about their families. They discovered that Tracy had coached with Dana’s husband on Dana’s daughter’s softball team for more than a year.
“We had never crossed paths, but it was an incredible moment,” she said. “One of the reasons I was having these surgeries was to continue coaching these special young girls … in a matter of 24 hours, those same girls had amazing nurse moms that were taking care of me, making it such a special connection.”
As Spotts continues her recovery, she is immensely grateful for her experience.
“What an amazing community, an exceptional facility, an expert doctor and an immense support system from start to finish,” Spotts said. “Thank you to Dr. Swindle and his entire team for getting me back to living my quality of life 100%. I can’t wait to see where things are at in a year!”
If you have pain that’s turning daily tasks into a struggle like Spotts experienced, it’s time to find an SSM Health orthopedic expert near you.
