For years, Roger Hudson's knees ached. The pain grew progressively worse. "I couldn't stand for five minutes without pain," he recalls. "It takes a lot of effort to walk when your knees are bad," notes Hudson, who serves as Cape Girardeau County treasurer.

The pain crippled his life for years. "I never slept more than three hours at a time," he explains. He quit hunting. "It was too painful to sit out in a tree stand," he remembers.

The pain in his knees, which was the result of all the cartilage wearing away,even forced him to give up golf. For a man who grew up playing basketball and tennis and then embraced golf, the physical limitations of his knees were devastating.

For Hudson, the solution was to have total knee replacement surgery on both knees at the same time. Rickey L. Lents, MD, of Orthopaedic Associates performed the surgery at Southeast Missouri Hospital on Dec. 27, 2005. "Roger had horrible arthritis in his knees," he recalls.

Hudson praises Dr. Lents' surgical skills. He also gives high marks to the nursing and rehab staff at Southeast. "They couldn't have treated me any better," he says.

Within two weeks after surgery, he was driving himself to Outpatient Rehab therapy sessions at Southeast's HealthPoint Plaza. Recovery took several months.

Dr. Lents points out that rehab exercises are important for a successful outcome. "It's vital. You've got to do it," he notes.

By April 2006, Hudson was back on the golf course. By June, he was playing in a nine-hole golf league at Cape Girardeau's Jaycee Municipal Golf Course. Hudson says knee replacement surgery has also allowed him to return to his love of hunting. He also works long days on the family farm, cutting wood.

Even his golf game has improved. "I shoot in the low 80s now," he says with a smile. "I hit the ball maybe 80 yards farther." None of that would have been possible without total knee replacement, Hudson adds. Dr. Lents says, "It is just like having a new lease on life."