Two questions and a sentence....

...that's what the doctor gave me today! Question 1: "How old are you?" Question 2: "Did you play sports as a teen?" and the sentence (in both meanings: as a statement and as a pronouncement - LOL): "You have moderate to severe arthritis in your right hip". Oh. Riiiight. But I should fill you in on what led up to this visit...

Last week I was going down the stairs at work and when I got to the last step (thank you, Lord!), I found myself in a face-plant position on the floor! "Well," I thought to myself, "that was kind of interesting!" No pain, no build-up, no warning, just face-plant! Then the next day, I was going down the stairs at home and half way down, same thing, but this time I was able to lean against the wall to steady myself so I didn't fall. By now I'm thinkin', "This can't be good....in fact, this could be downright hazardous to my health!!" LOL. You think?? Now a strange sense of denial came over me when this happened - maybe it's similar to what people do when they have chest pains and don't tell anyone. You think it can't be happening to you. But it was. The strange thing is that, while my hip has been aching, and I knew there must be some arthritis in it, I have no discomfort walking or going up stairs. So, anyway...a date with the surgeon is on the horizon for me (probably a couple of months) but my doctor said they probably won't do a replacement because I'm too young (nice to still be able to say I'm too young for something - LOL!!). Replacements only usually last 10-15 years, so they like to wait until you're older to do them.

Meanwhile, Floyd's forcing me into an alcoholic lifestyle because he read that alcohol reduces the risk of arthritis! So, bottom's up, everyone! Mogen David and Late Harvest are soon to be regular items on my daily ration - too heck with food!

Oh, and a thought for those of you with children still at home: you might want to consider their future before you get them too involved in sports as teens! Doctor said my hip was a classic example of someone who'd been active as a teen....hmmmm......