Woman Sings Praises for Relief from Joint Pain
Stories of Healing
March 24, 2022
Woman Sings Praises for Relief from Joint Pain
Woman in hat smiling

Claire Godwin is grateful for the opportunity to serve people. Using talents as a pianist, vocalist, and missionary, she enjoys an active life full of travel, meeting like-minded volunteers, and helping people.

Godwin and her husband, Bob, are globetrotters, and their ministry work has taken them to places like Kenya and other east African countries, and to Mexico.

“It was a great life — and then we just came to a standstill,” she said.

While at a retreat, Godwin saw that her husband seemed to be losing his balance, and reached out to catch him, unknowingly throwing herself into peril.

“I flew through the air, and landed way out,” she said, describing the fall. “I crashed on a patio stone.”

Godwin broke her hip and her arm, receiving treatment for her injuries at a hospital near her retreat. She felt debilitated but hopeful during recovery.

“I was really excited that I was getting better, and was looking forward to have a normal life again,” she remembers.

But stabbing pain alerted Godwin that something other than healing was happening in her body. She consulted Karim Elsharkawy, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and joint-replacement specialist on the medical staff at Texas Health Allen and Texas Center for Joint Replacement, a Texas Health Physicians Group practice, located near her home.

Elsharkawy determined that the fracture in Godwin’s hip had not healed properly, and that the screws the other hospital used to stabilize it were actually cutting through her hip joint. Additionally, X-rays showed that the ball of her hip joint had collapsed.

“The fact that the screws were cutting through her joint adds another level of complexity,” Elsharkawy explained. He performed a procedure to remove the old screws from Claire’s femur bone and reconstruct her hip, inserting an additional side plate on her hip to help protect the joint from further fractures.

After the surgery, Godwin was able to return to her daily life, enjoying activities like taking care of her home and husband, and returning to her piano playing and mission work, pain-free.

Karim Elsharkawy, M.D., Orthopedic Surgeon

“Claire is a perfect example of what I love about my job,” Elsharkawy noted. “Being able to get her to that level of activity, being able to walk, being able to move her hip again — that makes a huge impact on people’s lives, so it’s very gratifying.”

“I thank God,” Godwin said. “I thank Dr. Elsharkawy for what he did.”

To schedule an appointment with a joint replacement specialist, visit our online Find-a-Physician tool or call 1-877-THR-WELL (1-877-847-9355).

Providers employed by Texas Health Physicians Group are not employees or agents of Texas Health Resources hospitals. ©2019

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