In this together: Mother and daughter-in-law are getting knee surgery together

A local mother and daughter-in-law duo are getting knee surgery together, on the same day, from the same surgeon and on the same knee.

Dorcas and Tonya Tobias, 81 and 52 respectively, are getting knee surgery together on Thursday at the Blue Water Surgery Center, a section of Blue Water Orthopedic Associates. They are getting surgery on their right knees because they both have bad arthritis. Dorcas said she is nervous because this is the first time she's having knee surgery. Tonya, on the other hand, has had knee surgery in the past and knows what to expect.

Tonya said that while she could have potentially waited to get her own surgery, she decided to make both appointments to ease her mother-in-law.

"She needs it more than I do, so to make it easier for her, I told her that I'll make both appointments together," she said.

During their recovery, Dorcas and Tonya will be taken care of by Robert Tobias, the duo's son and husband, respectively. They all live in the same house, which the women said will hopefully make the situation easier.

Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Scott Heithoff has been a doctor for 22 years and will be performing surgery on the two women. He said the surgeries will happen one after the other, finishing within an hour of each other. Dorcas and Tonya will then recover at the surgery center for a few hours before being discharged.

Heithoff said it's common to go back and forth between patients, so this upcoming surgery won't be unlike others that he's done in the past.

"For our surgery days here, we typically do anywhere from three to five knee or hip replacements," he said. "It's pretty common and is very efficient."

Heithoff said full recovery from knee surgery typically takes between six to eight weeks.

Heithoff said it's interesting that his next two patients will be getting surgery together. He said he hopes that Robert Tobias is ready to help the women in their recoveries.

Dorcas said she is looking forward to ditching her walker after recovering from the knee surgery. She said she's attending her first grandchild's wedding in September and doesn't want to need it during the ceremony and reception.

"I want to get down that aisle walking on my own," she said.

Both Dorcas and Tonya said they are looking forward to not having any pain after having knee surgery.

Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannett.com.

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This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Mother, daughter-in-law get knee surgery together