The Houston Marathon Runner Back Running After Knee Surgery and the Movement She Built After Family Tragedy

Running meant everything to Caryn Honig. It was a way to decompress and a way to challenge herself. Caryn had been running since 1985, then, all of a sudden, she had to stop. Her knees simply could not take it anymore.

“I was bone on bone. My knee would even catch, and I would trip. It was really painful,” Caryn told Houston Life. Caryn knew she needed a knee replacement but the doctors she spoke to told her even with surgery she would never run again.

Then, she heard about Dr. Richard Berger, a world-renowned Chicago-based orthopedic surgeon at Midwest Orthopedics at Rush, Chicago. Dr. Berger had a solution to Caryn’s dilemma and was so confident he could not only help replace Caryn’s knee, but pinky swore Caryn would be running again in no time.

Dr. Berger is known for treating elite athletes, politicians, and celebrities. Even former US President George W. Bush was a patient.

Dr. Berger offers a new program called The BEST (Berger Elective Surgical & Telemedicine) Experience for patients not based in Chicago. This concierge-style service for out-of-town patients is more convenient and saves them time and money because they do not have to travel to Chicago for pre- or post-consultations or pre-surgery classes.

Dr. Berger performs hip and knee replacements using a minimally invasive procedure that cuts less tissue and ligaments. This allows for a much quicker recovery than traditional surgery and means patients get back to doing what they love, even running marathons!

Caryn traveled to Chicago for surgery, and with her new knee, Caryn soon raced back to running, including marathons, half and full.

Then tragedy struck. Caryn’s father died by suicide. Dealing with the heartbreak of suicide in her family, Caryn turned running into a movement called Poppy’s Run for Life and Poppy’s Row for Life.

“My grandfather also died by suicide when I was a teenager, and we never talked about that, and when my dad died by suicide, I had to talk about it. The outlet that I had was running, and my running community came together. Dr. Berger stepped up, and we created a nonprofit organization. All the proceeds go to suicide prevention and awareness,” Caryn told Houston Life.

For more information on or to donate to Poppy’s Run for Life and Poppy’s Row for Life visit Poppy’s Run for Life online.