I had a total replacement of my right hip performed by Dr. Aric Christal and his team, and then spent one night recovering at the Swedish Hospital in Edmonds, WA. I have had a number of surgeries in my 71 years, often with hospital stays involved and this experience was clearly one of the best ever.

Dr. Christal’s talent, expertise, and caring were paramount in that experience. I was also very impressed by the extensive pre-op education and information provided by his 40+ page SwiftPath guide and the two-hour slide presentation. I have never experienced anything approaching that level of valuable medical preparation. I especially appreciated how the publication and presentation detailed the major areas of possible complications, such as infection, and then went on to detail the numerous steps that had been taken to mitigate those problems. Please note also that Dr. Christal’s colleagues, Katelynn and Connie, were very patient and thoughtful in my dealing with them.

My post-op recuperative care given by the people at Swedish in Edmonds was truly on a par with Dr. Christal’s expertise. My RNS, Fran and FeAlma, were both great, very thoughtful and caring. Fe was especially good at explaining every med given. My CNAs, Asme, Marcy, Kachi and Sabrina, were all unfailingly kind, caring, and often even funny. The physical therapist, Stephanie, was also excellent. I’m sure that all involved must be proud of the good work they do, but it is my humble observation that each and every one of them definitely should be. It must be humbling to realize how many people’s lives they improve so profoundly.