Photographer captures extraordinary images weeks after hip replacement surgery
Jim Cox, 66, started scuba diving and underwater photography about fifty years ago while in high school. “I’ve always had a love for our oceans,” said Cox, who works for Sandia National Labs near Albuquerque.
When not working, he is often underwater enjoying his photography hobby. Unfortunately for him, it was an accident on land that broke his hip and kept him out of the water.
“It was not one of my better moments,” said Cox, a born storyteller.
“I didn’t think much about wearing rubber-soled slippers to go outside and turn the water hose off until my feet went out from under me,” he recalled. “I landed on my left side on the hard concrete sidewalk. The fall broke my hip.”
An ambulance transported him to Lovelace Medical Center where X-rays confirmed his broken hip. Cox was quickly scheduled for hip replacement surgery that week with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Christopher Hanosh.
“I worried my surgery would affect my future underwater photography activities,” said Cox. “That will be my main focus when I retire, but Dr. Hanosh was very reassuring. He encouraged me to continue my retirement plans. ‘We’re going to get you back to the way you were,’ he told me.”
After the successful surgery, the first six weeks of Cox’s physical therapy were on dry land to minimize the risk of an infection. Once in the pool, he usually swam a mile and then returned home to ride 10-20 miles on his stationary bike.
“On my first dive after surgery, I was hesitant to carry 75-90 pounds of gear on my new hip. Fortunately, the crew put the gear on my shoulders while I was sitting on the side of the boat, so all I had to do was fall into the water. Since I already had shown an aptitude for falling near water, the entire trip went very well.”
Since his surgery, Cox has completed more than 100 scuba dives and has captured hundreds of stunning, ‘blackwater’ photographs. “I have Dr. Hanosh and staff to thank for my full recovery from my hip replacement surgery. I cannot praise him enough.
Read the full patient testimonial on the Lovelace Health System website.
