Jandale C. always admired Rosie the Riveter — a symbol of grit, determination and getting the job done when the odds are long. After years of failed knee surgeries, constant falls and being told she had no real options left, Jandale held on to that image of strength. Today, thanks to a complex revision knee surgery with Raul Gösthe, MD, at HCA HealthONE Presbyterian St. Luke’s, she is standing strong again and getting her life back.
For the 64-year-old Greeley resident, that recovery means far more than less pain. After four surgeries on her left knee and years of instability and disappointment, Jandale was running out of the options. One surgery led to the next. After complications and the loss of her kneecap (patella), she was told there was little anyone could do. “I just wanted my life back,” Jandale said. “I didn’t know that would even be possible.”
Her quality of life had dwindled to almost nothing. A retired certified nursing assistant, Jandale had spent years on her feet caring for others. But by this point, she struggled to walk without falling. She stopped doing things she loved. A trip to the dog park ended in a fall that left her needing help to get back up.
“It was so embarrassing,” she said. “I used to stay home and do nothing because I was afraid of falling.”
As she got older, that fear only grew. Falling was not just frustrating; it was dangerous. “The older you get, the more dangerous falling becomes,” she said. “I couldn’t keep living like that.”
Then she was referred to orthopedic surgeon Dr. Gösthe at HCA HealthONE Presbyterian St. Luke’s. After years of uncertainty, Jandale said Dr. Gösthe brought something she had not felt in a long time: hope.
“He was immediately upbeat. He knew exactly what to do,” she said. “He put my husband and me at ease. He looked at the X-ray, knew what needed to be done and took the time to explain everything.”
In November 2025, Jandale underwent revision knee surgery with Dr. Gösthe. Because of her multiple prior procedures and significant damage to the knee, he rebuilt her knee with a patella implant and added stabilization to help support the joint. For Jandale, the impact has been life changing.
“When Jandale came to us, her life had essentially come to a halt after an unsuccessful knee replacement and additional surgeries that worsened her quality of life, said Dr. Gosthe, who specializes in hip and knee surgeries. “We offered an unorthodox solution — revising her knee and reconstructing her patella using cadaver tissue."
“He gave me my life back,” she said. “If he hadn’t done what he did, my life would have been nonexistent. I couldn’t keep going around and falling for the rest of my life.”
Now, just months later, Jandale says she is doing “awesome.” Dr. Gösthe told her he would be pleased if she reached 90 degrees of motion because of everything the knee had been through. At a recent visit, she blew that benchmark out of the water — she reached 125 degrees.
“I have great range,” she said. “I can go up and down stairs with no problem. I can walk without falling.”
"I'm thrilled with her outcome,” Dr. Gosthe said. “Seeing her realize she could once again straighten and bend her knee — and watching her joy for life return — was incredibly rewarding."
More importantly, she is returning to the life she missed. She is back to cooking. She can visit her mother in Wyoming and go shopping. She can take her retriever, River, and her goldendoodle, Rosie, — named for the symbol of strength she held onto through it all — to the dog park again without fear. She can dance around the house and be silly again — something she missed more than she realized. And later this year, she is looking forward to something that once felt out of reach, dancing at her nephew’s wedding.
"It was a long road to recovery, but she remained positive throughout and did incredibly well," Gosthe said.
Jandale said of Dr. Gösthe, “If there ever was a guardian angel, it was him. He made us feel like everything was going to be fine. If you could see the before and after of my knee, it’s just amazing what he did with that mess.”
For Jandale, recovery is not just about healing a knee. It is about feeling steady, capable and strong again. The strength she once admired in Rosie the Riveter is no longer just something she looked up to. It’s something she now recognizes herself.
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