"I managed to get down the aisle without crutches just two weeks after my hip replacement operation"

A police detective who was suffering “excruciating pain” and had to have both hips replaced before her wedding has said she “felt like a bride” after getting down the aisle without her crutches. Joanne Hiner, aged 42, from Treeton in Rotherham, set this as her recovery goal - but didn’t expect her second hip replacement to happen just two weeks before the big day. Steve Booker, Hospital Director at Practice Plus Group Hospital Barlborough, says setting specific goals even before an operation happens can help patients recover quicker, which may have helped Joanne in this case.

“My journey to a double hip replacement began before I even got engaged to my childhood sweetheart and long term partner, Michael. Last year, I was causing excruciating pain in my right hip and I felt my life had ground to a halt - I couldn’t horse ride, I couldn’t undertake any policing duties, and I couldn’t even make it to the local shops. Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Star, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.

I was referred to Rotherham hospital for my first operation, but months went by with no date set. When Michael proposed and a date was set for nine months away, in June, I was desperate to get the surgery out of the way. I found out I had the right to choose where I had the op, so I asked to switch waiting lists to Practice Plus Group Hospital in Barlborough.

I was counting down the days to the surgery, set for 12 weeks down the line in December. Advertisement Advertisement I can’t begin to describe how bad the pain was at that time - I could not go to work and could barely walk. My dream of walking down the aisle on our wedding day seemed impossible.

The team in Barlborough were amazing, and I returned home with crutches two days after the surgery - only to find, in the coming weeks, I was overcompensating for the new hip, damaging by left hip in the process. Sign up now for our new breaking newsletter It.