Another hot string of mesages going down....

June 29, 2004

...like R. made note of a little while back, and I

can't stop myself, gotta jump in here.

I flew down to JRI last Tuesday and met w/Dr. Schmalzreid. One

message that came through loud and clear (I paraphrase slightly):

Know what you need to know so that you don't second guess your

choice (resurf vs THR). I can empathize with the analytical

tendencies I'm hearing out there - that 's the way I am too (my wife

slams me for once having taken 1+ year to finally choose a new

mountain bike).

I've got to wade in here regarding the pre-op jitters, or pre-op

diddling as this syndrome has been described....OK, my hip is, uh,

not quite right, great bone vs. bone action, all the gory details of

YOUR x-rays... So - why haven't I pitched a tent on the JRI doorstep

to wait for the first opening? Because I get by fine (relatively

speaking). So I have to pop 1 or 2 vicodins a day, and I'm not

riding my bike much, and getting into a car is a graceful exercise

of back up lower my ass s-l-o-w-l-y to the seat, then grab my right

leg and swing it over to the gas pedal area...THIS IS NOTHING! I can

live with this...WHAT's MORE IMPORTANT is that I have a 4 year old

son who sometimes needs his Dad in the middle of the night, and if I

thought there was a 1 in 10,000 (or whatever, I haven't worked

out the critical odds) chance of losing WHAT I HAVE NOW then I would

just happily go online looking for that 55 gallon drum of Vitamin V

that'll last a long time.

You post-op resurfs are astounding and courageous...the image of

on Ford and the android gal leaving for the country at the end

of Blade Runner comes to mind: courage and commitment in the face of

uncertainty...your tales of physical ability, agility, and capacity

are sheer pornography for me...but I never hear people in this group

say: my choice for resurfacing was driven by what is best for me vis-

a-vis life with my family.

Anyway...I want to believe in what resurf has to offer...I've ridden

the Flume Trail above Lake Tahoe, I've more than once caught the

backside of Kirkwood after a big dump of powder, and I know what

it's like to play in warm waves..I'm just still working the

personal risk angle.

OK, lemme have it: Singer, get a grip! [Or lose your grip, per some

earlier emails....]

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