{"id":9639,"date":"2023-08-14T17:23:24","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T00:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?page_id=9639"},"modified":"2024-12-16T15:48:15","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T23:48:15","slug":"mobility","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/about-samaritan\/together\/mobility\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Mobility Together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Building Mobility Together – Alice's Story<\/h1>\n\t\t\t
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\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to being the bionic woman \u2013 I\u2019ll be able to roller skate!\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Alice Carter<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Lifelong Volunteer Regains Mobility After Joint Replacement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was visiting a friend in Vermont, and we went to a party where there were a lot of 1960s Peace Corps volunteers, and I remember just asking \u2018well what\u2019s the age limit?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it turns out, there simply isn\u2019t one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alice Carter has never been one to idly sit by without a volunteer project up her sleeve, so when she announced to her six children that she\u2019d joined the Peace Corps at the age of 86, surprise wasn\u2019t their first reaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy kids thought for sure the Peace Corps would let me join, but would never send me away at my age,\u201d Carter said with laughter. \u201cThey said \u2018sure, Mom, join the Peace Corps so you can say you did.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy little granddaughter just kept saying \u2018No Peace Corps! No Peace Corps!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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But shortly after she joined the Peace Corps, she was invited to join a team of volunteers for a two-year mission in Morocco. Before she headed to Africa, Carter packed up all of her belongings and shipped them from Boston, Massachusetts, for storage in Corvallis, Oregon, where one of her children lived and she planned to retire after her mission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d visited Corvallis a handful of times and just knew there was no better place to retire when I was done adventuring,\u201d said Carter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once in Morocco, Carter was welcomed by a host family and began a three-month training alongside 100 Peace Corps team members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were welcomed with open arms,\u201d she recalled. \u201cMy host family insisted they cook for me, taught me about the local community and treated me as family.\u201d

As Carter became acclimated to the Moroccan culture and her role as an educator, she did her best to keep up with a variety of activities. Her fellow volunteers encouraged her to join them on sightseeing adventures, and her active students kept her busy teaching everything from American and Moroccan history to creative writing and conflict resolution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne day, I asked them \u2018would you like to climb Mount Toubkal?\u2019\u201d she recalled. \u201cOf course they all did \u2013 it\u2019s 13,000 feet plus a few more \u2013 so we gathered and began training for the climb by going on hikes every Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMy life isn\u2019t about what\u2019s happened to me medically, it\u2019s about the work I\u2019m doing for the homeless, for my church.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Alice Carter<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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As Carter taught her group of 60 kids about leadership, cooperation and community, she noticed it became increasingly difficult to keep up with the adventures. So when it came time for the great climb, she had to watch her students tackle the mountain from the sideline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy Peace Corps doctor begged me to go home and have my hip fixed, but I just wouldn\u2019t,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite her lack of mobility and extreme pain, Carter was unwilling to give up and completed her mission in Morocco. Once home, her condition worsened to where she could only sleep in a recliner chair. She immediately began looking into getting her hip fixed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in March 2019, at the age of 90, Carter enlisted the help of James Ryan, MD, who replaced her hip at Samaritan Albany General Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey did a beautiful job. It was great to find myself in a quiet, private room and I loved the staff,\u201d said Carter.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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After one night in the hospital, Carter returned to her home in Corvallis to focus on healing and planning her next endeavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy life isn\u2019t about what\u2019s happened to me medically, it\u2019s about the work I\u2019m doing for the homeless, for my church,\u201d she explained as she pulled blueprints for her next community project from a corner desk in her home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter returned to Samaritan Albany General Hospital for a knee replacement under Dr. Ryan\u2019s care in November 2019. Now recovered and ready for adventure, she recently traveled to Boston to study medical respite facilities for the homeless population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to be top notch before traveling to Boston,\u201d said Carter, who plans to bring her learnings back to Corvallis to continue her work locally. \u201cMy new joints give me the ability to work better for my community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to being the bionic woman \u2013 I\u2019ll be able to roller skate!\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Hips Can Just Wear Out<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of wearing down the hip joint. And, while hip surgery isn\u2019t for everyone, as Baby Boomers age, the number of hip replacements is expected to increase by more than 60 percent in the next 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learn About the Hip Joint<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Big City Care Is Available Locally<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dr. James Ryan helps relieve patients from debilitating joint pain. He replaced Alice Carter\u2019s hip and then her knee allowing her to continue her active lifestyle in her 90s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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