BALTIMORE COUNTY — Imagine not being able to walk, to take a single step without feeling excruciating pain.
That was the reality for Dedric Battle until one GBMC doctor finally listened to his pleas for help.
Battle suffered from painful arthritis in both hips for four years.
Over time the pain got worse, heavily affecting his daily life with his 11-year-old daughter.
Baltimore man thanks GBMC doctor for helping him walk again, pain-free
“I couldn’t even take her or our puppy to the park and enjoy the weather," Battle said, “This was essentially my prison.”
Doctor after doctor told him to lose weight and waved him off.
“I wasn’t heard.”
He remembers a particularly bad experience, telling WMAR-2 News about an exchange he had with the third doctor he saw.
“ [He said] Mr Battle. Hey, doctor so and so. You lost weight. Yeah, I’m under 300 pounds like you said. Come back when you’re 250 and leaves out.”
Broken and disappointed, he had one last Hail Mary, going to Dr. James Johnston, Division Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at GBMC.
“[I told him] I’m about to lose my job. My disability is running out, and I just need help. Can you help me?”
Dr. Johnston answered his prayers and took in Battle's weight as a factor, not a barrier.
Two weeks later in March, Battle was getting surgery on one hip then got surgery on the other the next month.
“I think the fact that he was so persistent, he kept trying. I think the fact that it just meant so much to him to be active with his child and he wanted to work on his degree," said Dr. Johnston.
He can't speculate as to why other doctors didn't listen to Battle's pain, but acknowledges the prevalence of medical racism in the United States.
“I know that there’s proof that African American men get less treatment for pain and musculoskeletal care, a lot of what we’re dealing with is pain and function, and I think it’s really important to listen to people.”
Dedric was most excited to show his daughter Alexandria who was shocked to see her dad finally relieved from his pain.
“And then he just walks over and I’m like, what," she said, “I would be like, Lord please let my dad walk again. I want to do things with him. Please let him walk. And then to see my dream come true.”
His renewed quality of life put a bright smile on his face just thinking about it.
“We took [our dog] Chessie to the park, I can go up and down the stairs, I can sit outside.”
He had a message for Dr. Johnston and GBMC.
“It’s just like, thank you, my voice was heard, you see my pain.”
He's looking forward to being able to walk across the stage to accept his degree in Human Resources from the University of Maryland Global Campus.
He wants to invite his new best friend, Dr. Johnston, to come.
