For 57-year-old Patrick Wagner, resilience isn't just a mindset - it's a way of life. After decades of hard work and long days on his feet, Patrick reached a point where the pain in his knee was no longer something he could push through. A torn ACL, torn meniscus, bone spurs, and arthritis forced him to make a difficult, but necessary, decision: undergo a total knee replacement (TKR). His surgery was scheduled for March 3, 2025.

But Still Standing is more than a story about surgery. It’s about what holds a person up when their body starts to fail. For Patrick, that answer is simple — family.

Patrick and his wife, Stephanie, have known each other since high school. They ran in the same circles, but it wasn’t until after college that they began dating - specifically on the Sunday after the Kentucky Derby in 1987. Life moved fast after that, and their family grew quickly. They had their first child, Ralph, in 1991, followed by their daughter, Raven, in 1993. A few years later, on New Year’s Eve in 1998, during an ice storm, they got married — a moment Patrick and Stephanie fondly remember as both chaotic and perfect.

Since then, they’ve built a life rooted in love, laughter, and the kind of partnership that carries you through the hardest days. Stephanie works in the medical field, and Patrick says she was more nervous about his surgery than he was.

Patrick's knee damage isn’t unusual for someone in his line of work. Factory and warehouse jobs require long hours on hard surfaces, repetitive motion, and constant physical strain. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, musculoskeletal disorders, including joint problems like arthritis and torn ligaments, are among the leading causes of injury in manufacturing workers. Studies show that factory workers are nearly twice as likely to require joint replacement surgeries compared to white-collar workers.

Patrick currently works at Magna International and has worked on multiple different production lines in the factory located in Bowling Green, Ky.

Magna is a major global supplier to the automotive industry, particularly known for its expertise in mobility technologies. They develop and produce a wide range of components and systems for vehicles, including those related to safety, comfort, and the future of autonomous driving and electrification. .

The physical pain is only part of the story. The financial strain of missing work while recovering adds another challenge. Patrick receives disability insurance, but it only covers about 66% of his income — and with rent, car payments, and everyday expenses, that reduction hits hard.

To help manage his chronic pain, Patrick uses cannabis. “It helps with the pain,” he says, explaining that it provides him relief without heavy reliance on prescription medication. For many people in physically demanding jobs, medical cannabis is a practical and increasingly accepted part of managing long-term pain.

He’s quick to acknowledge how fortunate he is to have support — from Stephanie, Ralph, Raven, his mom, his sister, and longtime friends who check in and show up. “I guess I’m kind of blessed,” he reflects. Not everyone has that kind of network.

A study from the National Library of Medicine titled "Racial Variation in Total Knee Replacement in a Diverse Nationwide Clinical Trial" showed that black patients are significantly less likely to undergo TKR compared to White patients, even when accounting for similar levels of knee osteoarthritis severity.

When analyzing data from the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) found that Black participants had a lower adjusted risk of having TKR than White participants, despite experiencing worse baseline knee pain and function.

This means is that racial disparities in joint replacement aren’t just about differences in physical health. They point to deeper, systemic issues in healthcare access, cultural trust, and referral patterns. Even when Black patients experience equal or greater need for surgery, they are less likely to receive it. This suggests barriers such as:

• Limited access to orthopedic care in predominantly Black communities,
• Medical mistrust stemming from historic mistreatment,
• Under-referral by providers,
• And financial or insurance-related challenges.

Ultimately, this disparity can lead to prolonged suffering, greater physical disability, and a lower quality of life for many Black patients - all of which could be preventable with equitable access and care.

Despite the challenges, Patrick never lost his humor. He joked about going from two bowlegged legs to one straight and one crooked, and about how all he really needed to get through the day is “a cold beer, a shot, and a pack of cigarettes.” Beneath the jokes is a quiet honesty — about aging, pride, pain, and the need to keep moving forward.

This story is a portrait of endurance — not just of one man’s body, but of a marriage, a family, and a life full of hard-earned love. It’s about what keeps us going when we’re hurting, and how the people who stand beside us help us stay on our feet — no matter how crooked the road may get.