At 46, Dianne Latour was crippled by osteoarthritis so severe, she could barely enjoy time with her husband and three children.

It seemed her only option was a risky surgery that might not even work - until one day, Dianne found out about a doctor trying something so simple, it sounded too good to be true....

“I've Never Felt So Good!”

Dianne Latour's mind raced as she sat in her doctor's office, poring over consent forms. “It's your only hope,” her doctor said. Without surgery, she'd soon be a complete cripple. What choice do I have? she asked herself now. Yet somewhere deep inside, a voice kept nagging at the Lafayette, Louisiana, mother of three, telling her she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life...

It had been 23 years since a car accident had shattered Dianne's legs - and taken the life of her husband. “You'll never walk again,” doctors said then. But somehow, Dianne had surprised everyone, walking after months of physical therapy. Still, as months passed, the young widow felt broken inside - until a friend invited her to a Sunday night church service. After mass, Dianne side-stepped out of the pew, her still tender legs screaming in protest. Suddenly, she heard a voice. “Can I help?” a young man asked. “Only if you can move this pew” Dianne groaned in frustration. And to her delight, he did! “My hero,” Dianne laughed, and a friendship was born.

With her new friends help, in the months ahead, Dianne's broken heart began to heal. One year later, she and Blaine were married. Eventually the couple was blessed with three children, Linzi, plus twins Rachel and Benjamin, and Dianne's days passed in a happy blur. But then one day, Dianne, now 44, noticed a dull ache in her right knee - and within a few weeks, it turned into grinding pain....

“It's osteoarthritis,” her doctor said. The accident had damaged the cartilage in her knee, and now, the inside of her knee was bone grinding against bone. My accident! Dianne gasped. It couldn't be coming back to haunt her now, could it? But the doctor's prognosis was grim. “Your only real option is total knee replacement surgery,” he said. Immediately, Dianne thought of a friend's dad - he'd had the surgery and required 10 follow-up surgeries. Even if everything went perfectly, the operation meant a 12 inch incision and months of painful recovery. “No,” she told her doctor.

But as the months turned to years, the pain got worse. Thought it broke her heart, when Blaine tried to cuddle, the pain was so excruciating, she had to push him away. She couldn't attend her son's soccer games, could barely go shopping with her girls. And with Linzi about to graduate from high school, Dianne worried that she wouldn't be able to make it up the stairs of the auditorium. Then one day, as she slowly trudged through a department store with Blaine, she caught her reflection in a window. At 46, Dianne expected a few gray hairs, a few wrinkles. But she was unprepared for what she saw: the pain-weary grimace of an old woman. “Enough is enough,” she told Blaine. The next day, she called and scheduled the surgery.

But now, as she pored over consent forms, Dianne was riddled with doubts. Her eyes turned to the risks - infection, heart attack, stroke... I could die! Her heart pounded. And after that, she read in shock, the surgery might not help at all! “I know this is crazy,” she told Blaine. “But I can't go through with it.” “It's okay,” he soothed. ”You have to do what you think is right.“ What if I'm wrong? Dianne anguished. How long will it be before I need a wheelchair?

But then one day, Rachel was surfing the Internet. “Can you show me how it works?” Dianne asked. “Sure,” Rachel smiled, “just type something in and hit enter.” “How about knee replacement,” Dianne said. Maybe there's something out there that can help me, she thought. And incredibly, as she scrolled through the results of her search, three words jumped out: Partial Knee Replacement. Partial? Dianne's heart pounded as she read about Dr. John Barrett in Florida and his surgery. Four inch incision...fast recovery...Could it be true? she wondered.

“Yes, it really works” Dr. Barrett's nurse assured Dianne when she called. Unlike total knee replacement, the surgery Dr. Barrett preformed - actually called partial knee resurfacing - just replaced the part of the knee that was damaged, dramatically reducing risks. Dianne mailed her x-rays that afternoon. And then... “Your a perfect candidate for this surgery,” Dr. Barrett's nurse called to say.

It sounds great, Dianne thought. Still, she was nervous. Please Lord ,she prayed, send me a sign... Just a few days later, Dianne ran into an old friend. “My knee's gotten so bad I can barley walk!” She confided, telling her friend all about Dr. Barrett and her dilemma. To Dianne's surprise, her friend already knew about Dr. Barrett. “He performed my daughter's surgery!” she gushed. “You couldn't be in better hands!”

This is the answer I've been praying for, Dianne realized. That day, she scheduled the surgery. And when the morning of the operation arrived... “Everything's going to be fine,” Blaine kissed her. He's right, Dianne smiled. This time, she was sure she was doing the right thing.

Less than two hours later, the surgery was finished. And just two hours after that, with the help of a walker, Dianne took her first step. “Thank you Dr. Barrett!” she wept. The next day she went home. And just three weeks after that, she was able to climb flights of stairs to reach the top of the auditorium - and watch Linzi graduate from high school. “I'm so glad you could be here, Mom,” Linzi wept afterward.

“Me too,” Dianne beamed. Today, Dianne once again enjoys after-dinner walks with Blaine and afternoons at the mall with her kids. Only now, when she catches a glimpse of herself in a shop window, she feels good about what she sees. Gone is the pained grimace, replaced by radiant joy. “I can't remember ever feeling so good.” She beams. “I feel like a whole new me!”

Story by: Deanna Pease with Deborah Bebb.

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