Hip to the task

One of the first things Bill Kynes did when he moved back to his native state of Florida was sign up for a rowing club.

A retired pastor who spent 36 years in the ministry, Kynes, 69, rowed collegiately on the club level at England’s Oxford and Cambridge universities as a prestigious Rhodes Scholar. Later, while ministering in the Washington, D.C., area, he participated in the annual Cambridge/Oxford Alumni Boat Race on the Potomac River.

“Rowing is great exercise and easy on your joints,” said Kynes, who primarily competes in eight-person team boats where each person handles one oar. “But my left hip had been giving me trouble for years and I knew it wasn’t going to get any better, so I decided to look into fixing it.”

Destined for total relief

For starters, Eric Rosemund, MD, an internist with Baptist Primary Care, recommended Kynes have his left hip X-rayed at Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville.

When the test results came back, Kynes found out he had severe arthritis in the joint and that hip surgery was likely in his future.

“I decided to have the surgery before I absolutely had to,” said Kynes, who was referred to Brett Frykberg, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with Orthopedic Specialists of Jacksonville who performs surgery at Baptist Health hospitals.

After examining the arthritic joint, Dr. Frykberg said Kynes was a good candidate for total joint replacement, Kynes said.

Also known as arthroplasty, total joint replacement is a surgical procedure that removes severely damaged, diseased or arthritic joint surfaces and replaces them with a prosthetic device that mimics the movement and function of a healthy, natural joint.

Coupled with a consistent physical therapy regimen, it can alleviate chronic pain and restore mobility.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about it,” said Kynes. “Everyone says hips [after surgery] are much easier to recover from than knees or elbows. That was very encouraging to me.”

Same-day surgery and discharge

One of the benefits of total hip replacement surgery, which typically takes between one and two hours to complete, is that many patients can return home the same day as their surgery.

“The hospital did an excellent job of preparing me for what to expect,” said Kynes, who underwent his procedure in November 2025. “My surgery was early in the morning, and by late afternoon, I was in a walker heading to the parking lot. Dr. Frykberg said walking was the most crucial part of my recovery period.”

Kynes, who lives on the Arlington River in Jacksonville, did what the doctor ordered, walking routinely on a quarter-mile driveway in his community. He also benefitted from home-based physical therapy sessions provided by Baptist Health’s adult outpatient team.

“Dr. Frykberg said I would be back to rowing within three months, and he was right,” said Kynes, who is learning how to row a solo boat or single scull, which requires more individual control than team rowing.

After living with a “bum knee” for years, Kynes, who is also a former quarterback at the University of Florida, said he's considering a second total joint replacement surgery in the future.

“I always thought I would have arthritis in that knee, but it has held up well,” he said. “I have my surgeon on speed dial if anything changes.”

If you’re experiencing joint pain, talk to your primary care physician or make an appointment with Baptist Orthopedics by calling 904.202.MOVE.