Last September Shane Duncan was struggling with the kind of pain most people don’t expect for a young father.

It kept him from going to the grocery store, doing activities such as sitting on a motorcycle and playing with his young son, Kevin.

It even forced him to quit his job in restaurant management.

Duncan couldn’t walk or stand for long periods of time. He often couldn’t bear the pain of something as simple as standing up while getting out of a car.

But as of Nov. 21, Duncan hopes that’s all behind him. He hopes to find another job managing restaurants — Duncan is working for a school district’s transportation department — and to get outside more with Kevin, who is 2½ years old, and enjoy activities a father and son should be doing: hiking, fishing, going to the zoo.

“I just can’t wait to get to playing with him more,” Duncan said.

That’s what two new hips will do for a 30-year-old suffering from dysplasia and rheumatoid arthritis; joint damage caused by a type of osteoporosis Duncan has suffered since childhood.

For the second year in a row the Butler man found himself in a Butler Memorial Hospital bed on the week of Thanksgiving. For most people that’s not a good thing, but Duncan shed tears of joy on Wednesday as he spoke about the effect he hopes the surgeries will have on his life.

“It’s just a blessing, an opportunity,” he said. “I never knew what having this less pain was like. It’s phenomenal.”

This year Duncan received a total right hip replacement to go with the left hip that orthopedic surgeon Dr. Thomas Muzzonigro replaced last year. His recovery time is expected to be six to eight weeks, the hospital said.

Muzzonigro did both surgeries as part of a program, Operation Walk USA, that provides free knee and hip replacements here and abroad.

“In America these days it’s unusual to see it so severe at that young an age,” Muzzonigro said. “Shane is a remarkably deserving young man.”

Muzzonigro first heard about the program in 2010, when he tried to visit Haiti to help in the wake of an earthquake, but was unable to go. He said doing surgeries that can help change people’s lives — both here and abroad — is “probably the best part of my job.”

“I’m extremely lucky to be able to participate in this program,” Muzzonigro said. “There’s a lot of individuals, from the operating room technicians and nurses to anesthesiologists and hospital administration that contribute to the success of care in Butler. I think Butler puts their action, effort and money where their mouth is.”

This is the fourth year Butler Memorial has participated in the program, which allows two patients to be selected per year. The health system selects patients through the Community Health Clinic of Butler, where Duncan had gone last year because he couldn’t afford medical insurance after being forced to quit his job.

Eligibility for the program has fallen dramatically during the past two years, said Sandy Nettrour, a physician’s assistant and the health system’s orthopedic and neurosurgery service line coordinator. BMH is the only hospital in Pennsylvania participating in the initiative this year, she said.

Nettrour believes the federal Affordable Care Act has limited the number of people who are eligible for the program, which has strict guidelines based on age, income and insurance availability.

“There’s a lot of variables, and (participation) has really dropped to just a handful of hospitals around the country,” Nettrour said.

However, eligibility and demand for the hip and knee replacement surgeries abroad remain sky high.

Nettrour coordinates the health system’s mission trips for OpWalk’s Pittsburgh chapter, which focused on Central American countries this year. In Honduras the organization has a waiting list of 800 people, she said. In Nicaragua, 600 people have signed up for surgeries through the program.

Nettrour said the demand is so high because the country’s medical systems aren’t set up to provide the type of care needed by people who require orthopedic surgery. Hospitals there often run out of basic materials, she said, and patients are required to find and buy all surgical materials themselves.

“You’re talking about families that are making $3,000 to $4,000 a year,” she said. “It’s just not doable.”

Nettrour typically leads a team of five or six volunteers from the health system, including Muzzonigro. They use their vacation and raise their own money to participate in the mission trips.

“This is a completely dedicated effort,” she said.