The CORE Institute helps swimmer continue to reach new milestones despite setbacks

Making a splash

By Brian Sodoma

Kathleen O’Brien-Lawrence celebrated her 77th birthday in February of 2021 by swimming alongside massive whale sharks in the Sea of Cortez. It was a bucket list experience among an already lengthy list of impressive accomplishments for the active Sun City, Arizona resident. She has competed and won U.S. Masters and Senior Olympic swimming events, was a scuba diving partner with astronaut Buzz

Aldrin, spent years as a runner placing in the top 10 among women in numerous marathons, and competed in triathlons.

Today, she continues to stay active and is considering the 1.5-mile swim across the San Francisco Bay to Alcatraz

Island for her 80th birthday, which she has completed once already on her 65th birthday.

The CORE Institute Helps Swimmer Continue to Reach New Milestones Despite Setbacks

Her life, however, is not short on setbacks either. In 2019, a car accident left her with numerous injuries. The incident also took the life of her husband, Alex, who was also a gold-medal-winning Senior Olympics athlete into his 80s. In losing her partner, she leaned on others. Her biggest “cheering section,” she says, became The CORE Institute’s team of physicians.

“If it wasn’t for all the wonderful care I had received from The CORE Institute over the years, I would have never been able to accomplish this,” she said of her swim with the whale sharks. “I can’t praise them enough.”

GROWING UP IN THE OUTDOORS

As one of 14 children, she grew up in Minnesota and described days full of outdoor activity and few luxuries. “I didn’t grow up with dolls. I grew up with a fishing rod, and I swam and hunted with my brothers,” she said. “I think I became a bit of a survivalist, and that shaped me into someone who is not afraid of a challenge.”

With careers as a flight attendant, model, businessperson, writer, hospice nurse, the mother of four turned to running at 32 when she unexpectedly lost a previous husband. “I needed a place to put my grief and running did that for me,” O’Brien-Lawrence recalled. She would place in the top 10 for women in the Pikes Peak Marathon in 1979, her first of more than a dozen marathons. She eventually remarried, and when the couple retired to Sun City, the active retiree was invited to swim with the Sun City Starrs, a U.S. Masters team, and Dr. John Thompson competed in Senior Olympic swim events, winning her share of medals, from 2002 until her accident in 2019.

THE CORE INSTITUTE’S HAND IN MANY RECOVERIES

After the 2019 tragedy, she faced eight months of intense rehabilitation. A group of physicians at The CORE Institute, led by Dr. John Thompson, a Board Certified and Fellowship Trained Orthopedic Surgeon specializing in joint replacement, performed both knee and hip replacements on her. She began swimming only six weeks after her hip procedure. “She is so positive. Her recoveries were shorter than expected because of her mindset,” Dr. Thompson said.

O’Brien-Lawrence’s knee and hip replacements also benefitted from Dr. Thompson’s advanced techniques and the technology used by The CORE Institute. For her knee replacements, the orthopedic surgeon uses a “midvastus approach”, which results in a smaller incision that doesn’t disrupt the extensor mechanism in the knee. It allows for less pain and a quicker recovery. For hips, he uses a minimally-invasive, tissue-sparing approach with only a 4-inch incision. Both procedures are guided by robotic-assisted technology.

“For hips, the technology helps me to maximize the position of components for the best stability and range of motion,” he added. For knee surgeries, the technology helps

him to properly realign the knee and create equal spacing within the joint for better ligament function. “Not only are we able to maximize stability and range of motion, but the prosthesis also lasts longer, too.”

RENEWED SENSE OF HOPE

Lawrence says her support from The CORE Institute goes well beyond her hip and knee replacements and accident rehabilitation. Dr. Kelly Krohn, a bone health specialist with The CORE Institute, still monitors and maintains her bone density to keep osteoporosis e ects at bay. At the same time, fellowship trained Orthopedic Shoulder Surgeons, Dr. Bryan Wall and Dr. Jason Scalise, were also instrumental in keeping her life in motion. Without surgery, the physicians were able to rehabilitate an unrepairable broken arm and le shoulder, which was also injured in an accident.

“They believed in my body’s ability to heal and encouraged me to trust it. By not having surgery, I was able to develop strong muscles around what used to be my rotator cu and in my broken arm,” she said. “That’s why I can still swim.”

Today, with new joints and a renewed sense of hope, she commits to one or two miles a day of “maintenance swimming,” along with other low-impact exercises.

“For anyone who may feel uncertainty about a joint surgery, you shouldn’t fear putting your trust in the hands of the incredible team at The CORE Institute,” she added. “I promise it will be as life-changing for you as it has been for me.”

For anyone who may feel uncertainty about a joint surgery, you shouldn’t fear putting your trust in the hands of the incredible team at The CORE Institute. I promise it will be as life-changing for you as it has been for me.

– Kathleen O’Brien-Lawrence