News

New hip brings new outlook

Wellness Classic has special meaning for lawmaker from Salem

Kate Rowland
Special to the Statesman Journal

July 9, 2008

kate rowland | Special to the Statesman Journal Rep. Vicki Berger, R-Salem, who recently had hip-replacement surgery, plans to participate in the Wellness Classic golf tournament on Friday at Illahe Hills Country Club. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Salem Hospital Foundation's new Community Health Education Center, which will provide information and guidance about health issues.

When state Rep. Vicki Berger of Salem golfs in the Wellness Classic on Friday at Illahe Hills Country Club, it will be easy for her to keep the fundraiser's theme in mind.

Not because she serves on the board of the Salem Hospital Foundation, the tournament's beneficiary, and not because the 59-year-old legislator knows that Salem Hospital is an important economic force in her community.

The importance of good health is clear to Berger because until a couple of months ago, she was crippled by arthritis so painful that she was nearly unable to walk.

In April, Berger underwent innovative hip-replacement surgery using new technology at Salem Hospital. She approached her rehabilitation diligently, and in a few weeks, she was swimming, bicycling and golfing again — nearly pain-free.

"The Capitol has marble floors, and it was killing me to walk on them," Berger said. "The cartilage in my hip was gone, and it was bone grinding on bone. I was thinking I might need a wheelchair."

Constant pain makes everything difficult and weighs you down, Berger said.

"I used to call ibuprofen the other food group," she said. "After my surgery, the pain that had been in the background for years was gone. When you have a chronic pain condition and it goes away, it makes a huge difference.

"It isn't just that I'm able to swim and play golf again. It's the whole attitude. Freedom from pain literally lifts the top off your life, and you can look forward. It's huge."

Berger credits her success to Salem Hospital, as well as the hard work she did on her own. The hospital is incredibly up to date, she said, and is nationally recognized in cardiac care. Its cancer institute is remarkable, she said.

"The fact that I could get this new, cutting-edge surgery in Salem was huge for me," she said. "If you live in the Mid-Valley, do you really want to go to Portland or Eugene for major hospital services? We need the size and complexity of this hospital here."

Because medical professionals often don't have time to address every issue, Berger said, people need to rely more on helping themselves.

"I understand that I have to go to rehab," she said. "I didn't want to get in the pool; I hate getting water on my face. But working in the pool, with less weight, really helps. The first time I swam a mile, I couldn't believe it. Now it's not swimming a mile; it's how fast I swim a mile."

Berger continued to progress and moved on to spinning in June and golfing two weeks ago. She has to be careful to avoid movements that risk dislocating the repaired joint, but she expects a complete her recovery in six months to a year.

The principles behind the Wellness Classic are directly in line with Berger's personal beliefs, she said, because proceeds from the tournament are targeted for Salem Hospital Foundation's Community Health Education Center.

The $3.5 million venture will provide a centralized area in the hospital for people to learn about wellness, she said.

"We want the community to participate in their own health," she said. "We've got to get there. We've got to get people to understand that it's not just doctors and nurses who are responsible for their health."

People often turn to the Internet with health questions, and that can lead to bad information, Berger said. The CHEC center will provide a reference library, and staffers will be available to offer guidance. A teaching kitchen will allow classes for diabetics and heart patients to learn about nutrition.

"We'll offer classes on childbirth, classes on just about anything doctors think people need," Berger said. "It will be a one-stop community health resource."

The CHEC center's wide scope is exactly what the tournament committee had in mind when the decision was made to revamp the former Open Heart Open, which benefited the American Heart Association, into the Wellness Classic this year, Berger said.

"The committee wanted to broaden the tournament," she said. "Wellness is the perfect theme because it's about getting healthy, being healthy, staying healthy. Instead of just heart issues, it covers the whole spectrum of health. It broadens the mission and the goal."