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Twenty years after having her left hip replaced, Shelly Conley, 86, felt like something wasn’t quite right. She had a strange sensation deep in the hip joint that was shifting with every step, catching, and grinding in a way it hadn’t before.

Russell Parker fights fires at one job and works in a cobalt mine at another. He hunts, fishes, and, up until recently, competed in roping competitions on horseback. And there once was a time when he was a high-flying basketball player.

Debbi Jesse, 51, is outside mowing her lawn, an activity she couldn’t do prior to her ultra-minimally invasive—also known as endoscopic—spine surgery at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. For years, Debbi had been in pain, which ranged from stabbing to sharp to shooting throughout most of the lower half of her body, including her back, hips, and glutes.

U.S. News & World Report has again recognized St. Louis Children’s Hospital and its physician partners at WashU Medicine among America’s Best Children’s Hospitals, ranking St. Louis Children’s No. 1 in Missouri, No. 1 in St. Louis, and No. 3 in the Midwest region.

At Barnes-Jewish Hospital, WashU Medicine orthopedic surgeon, Jay Keener, MD, and his team are using the latest technology and personalized implants to make shoulder replacement surgery more advanced. Through expert planning and innovative surgical techniques, they’re helping patients get back to the activities they love, with less pain and better long-term results.

Imagine waking up one day with a strange sensation in your legs. It’s not pain exactly, but it’s not normal — you don’t quite feel like your brain is coordinating with your limbs.

But the minor twinge that started after one of her regular weight-lifting sessions soon grew into intense shoulder pain with accompanying arm and wrist weakness that threatened to sidetrack her busy life. She had a ruptured disc in her cervical (neck) spine.

Bill Bunch’s favorite activities include golfing, tending to his yard, and playing catch with his grandson. Each one became more difficult and less enjoyable for the retiree during a six-year span in which a worsening back condition affected his hips, legs, and feet.

Two wheels sped down a rural Missouri highway, and a 14-year-old fell in love. “It was a freedom feeling,” Tom Waller says, more than six decades after his first motorcycle ride. “And I’ve never lost it.