"It's gratifying knowing I could ease a patient's pain or give them the gift of mobility."
Dr. Ross Currie retired after giving half-a-century of his life to serving patients in need of orthopedic surgery for bones, joints, ligament, muscles, tendons and nerves at Burnaby Hospital.
Along the way, in addition to spearheading several initiatives — including a program that sought to identify hip dysplasia in newborn infants — Currie ensured that he would be a positive influence to everyone he met.
Fraser Health recently honoured Currie's selflessness and dedication as the recipient of the 2023 Above and Beyond Hero Award.
"Over the years, the community and hospital were very good to me," Currie said.
"I always found it rewarding to straighten something that was crooked or fix something broken. It's been a fun career, and I very much enjoyed my time working at Burnaby Hospital."
Currie, who started at Burnaby Hospital in 1969, was the first surgeon in the facility's history to complete a full knee replacement.
"Somebody had to be first, and I happened to be in the right place at the right time," he remarked.
"This [hip dysplasia] program was beginning to develop in all hospitals as we began to learn more about hip dysplasia in infants and children," added Currie.
"I would start every day in the nursery examining infants for looseness in their hips. Any identified infants would begin corrective measures to reduce any adverse side effects."
Dr. Currie trained for a year at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry, England, where he learned how to perform total hip and knee replacements.
He also trained at Vancouver General Hospital before become one of two orthopedic surgeons hired by Burnaby Hospital.
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