Beacon orthopedic team helps patient hike, rock climb again after complex hip replacement

Lisa Levin

When friends invited Lisa Levin on a hiking trip to Georgia, she couldn’t take them up on it. Not on foot. She had been experiencing severe hip pain that made walking difficult, so she brought a bike instead.

Her friends wouldn’t dream of leaving her behind, and the whole group slowed down to stay together.

“It was affecting my whole life,” she said.

For more than a year-and-a-half, hip pain upended Lisa’s life. She couldn’t sleep through the night, with pain waking her up frequently.

She began using a riding cart in the grocery store, and everyday tasks became more and more difficult. Activities with her kids were slowing down, too.

Lisa wasn’t surprised to experience joint pain. Osteoarthritis runs in her family, but being less than 50 years old when she started seeking care, arthritis wasn’t anyone’s first thought. Her pain felt like electrical zaps in her right hip, so “I thought it was a nerve problem,” she said. Physical therapy would help very briefly, but the pain quickly returned.

She wanted her mobility back, for her friends, her family and herself.

Dr. Ryan O’Rourke

A hidden hip dysplasia diagnosis

Lisa found hope and relief thanks to orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ryan O’Rourke, Beacon Medical Group Ireland Road, South Bend.

After heartfelt discussions of her level of pain and careful reviews of imaging studies, he agreed to replace her hip. Her surgery would be more complex than most due to her hip dysplasia, a condition in which the hip socket is shallow, leading to joint instability.

“As a result, she had an atypical arthritis wear pattern on her joint that wasn’t well identified on X-rays. It wasn’t until the MRI was obtained that we could truly appreciate how bad her joint was,” Dr. O’Rourke said.

“Lisa is a perfect example of knowing that when something isn’t right with your body, you need to speak up and advocate for yourself,” he said.

Back to hiking after hip replacement

Ready to regain her old life, Lisa underwent a replacement of her right hip, performed by Dr. O’Rourke at Memorial Hospital in February 2025.

“Everything went really well. The joint he put in there fit just fine,” she said. “It didn’t even take as long as he thought.” Lisa was able to return home the same day, ready to move forward. Within a few weeks of her replacement, she says people couldn’t even tell she had undergone surgery.

“The advances in hip replacement surgery have come a long way, and people do remarkably better afterwards,” Dr. O’Rourke said.

“I was just so thankful he listened to me. And he fixed it,” Lisa said. “My healing went so quickly and so smoothly. I’m very, very pleased with all of it.”

Now, she can once again hike with her friends. She has also resumed her hobby of rock climbing, with her son, and is carefully practicing some martial arts with her daughter.

“A lot of people can return to a very active lifestyle and enjoy things like hiking, biking, weightlifting, long walks, light jogging, swimming, pickleball and so much more. It is truly a life-changing surgery for those who struggle with hip arthritis,” Dr. O’Rourke said.

Lisa’s other hip has started to show some signs of arthritis, so when activities like these become too difficult, she’ll be reaching out to Dr. O’Rourke again.

“Tell Dr. O’Rourke I’m coming back in, so get ready!”