Jerry Scdoris, 74 year old founder of Oregon Trail of Dreams sled dog rides, tells his story about returning to the sport of sled dog racing after recovering from two total knee replacements. A former long-distance runner and musher for many years, he knew that he was a candidate for knee replacement when the knee pain got so bad that the bone was rubbing on bone. He tried steroid injections for the pain for a few years, but after a crash in a sled dog race, he knew that he needed to schedule the surgery. After the left knee was replaced, he had the right one done about six months later. “It saved my life,” Jerry said. With the goal of competing in the seven-leg Stage Stop Race in Wyoming, Jerry trained for months on his new knees. He lost weight, got back in shape, and was able to compete with his sled dog team pain free.
