Colleen’s story

Pain relief after orthopedic surgery 

Chronic pain became a daily way of life for Colleen, age 63. The retired truck driver, mom and grandma began experiencing shoulder pain in early 2020 after a weekend of painting the interior of her Chippewa Falls home. Her movements became severely restricted and eventually her rotator cuff “wore out” as she described it.

“I’ve always been a relatively healthy person,” she said. “I did have a gall bladder issue several years ago, but otherwise no serious injuries or complications so this shoulder problem really threw me off.”

Colleen went through all the right steps to ease the pain – doctor’s visits, medications and physical therapy, but relief was short-lived.

“The pain was affecting my life a lot,” she said. “I couldn’t live my life that way – not being able to lift things, not being able to play with my granddaughter like I wanted to – even everyday things like doing my hair and cooking were difficult. Living that way was not an option anymore.”

It was soon after her unsuccessful physical therapy ended when Colleen turned to Prevea Health. She scheduled an appointment with  Dr. Albert Cecchini, a Prevea orthopedic and sports medicine surgeon. Dr. Cecchini specializes in comprehensive orthopedic care for adults and children. He determined surgery would be Colleen’s best option for a better, and less painful future.

“Dr. Cecchini was highly recommended and I heard from others that he was very attentive to his patients, so I scheduled an appointment.”

In October of 2020 Colleen’s rotator cuff surgery was performed at HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls. She said she could tell things were moving in the right direction immediately after surgery.

“Dr. Cecchini was wonderful and such a good listener,” she said. “In fact, all of the Prevea staff I encountered were phenomenal.”

Post-surgery she began physical therapy with licensed experts at Prevea to help regain her strength.
“I could feel improvement every week,” she said. “The Prevea physical therapists did an excellent job of explaining why each exercise was helpful as my shoulder recovered. My range of motion started to improve, the pain was going away, and my overall mood was more positive.”

Dr. Cecchini said helping patients like Colleen return to active and pain-free lives is important to him.
“My top priority is patient care and communicating with patients to help them understand their diagnosis and treatment options.”

Today Colleen is back to the activities she and her granddaughter love.

“Gardening, baking cookies, going shopping - it’s all enjoyable again and I can’t be more grateful I found Prevea.”