My Hip is no Longer Hip

As another birthday draws near my body continues to remind me that I’m no longer a child. In my youth, unless a toenail was nearly torn off, a knee completely scabbed over, or a second degree sunburn covered my back, I would pop out of bed and get on with the day and into whatever my energetic brain could devise.

To the person who said, “If I woke up and didn’t feel pain, I’d think I was dead,” you are so right. An accumulation of falls, strains, and other injuries have taken a toll on my chubby body especially my joints. While working at Frick Hospital, both of my shoulders have taken abuse. My right shoulder has a separated tendon for my bicep and my left has impingement. Years of lifting and moving patients has left detrimental effects on many of my body parts.

Both of my knees have been painful, especially in the colder temperatures. With all of the “winter frolicking” and shoveling snow from the driveway, hauling in firewood on a wheelbarrow, and hauling out the ashes it has also affected my left hip. In the hip joint itself, there’s pain with movement. I can’t stop the winter chores, but I’ll try to limit my outdoor activities. There has only one other time that my hips caused me this much pain. That was when I was stationed in Orlando, Florida and allowed my cousins to talk me into attempting to water ski. Although I was much younger then, I was no athlete and chubby to boot. Keeping the skis and my feet close together was nearly impossible. I managed to get to my feet and erect for a few seconds before tumbling beneath the surface of the lake. I tried several times, but never achieved Olympic status and rode in the boat instead. The rest of the day I was able to enjoy, visiting the rest of the day with Aunt Helen, Uncle Jake, and the other cousins,. Later that evening, I returned to base. When I awoke the next morning and tried to walk was a different story. My hip sockets felt as though someone had packed them with coarse sand and gravel. Each step was agony. Each movement grated and chaffed painfully. I was miserable, until the pain slowly diminished over the next few weeks. Perhaps if I would have tried on a single water-surf board I could have avoided the embarrassment of not being able to water ski and the pain that followed.