A NEW HIP

 

     

                                        "Never doubt  the healing quality of cold surgical steel."

                                      M.D. Wachs, MD     Retired Orthopedic Surgeon    Ca 1975

                                                       

                                                   

       

"What is the difference in 'Major' surgery  and 'Minor' surgery ?''

   The answer, often heard,  "If you have it, it's Minor surgery.

        If I have it, it's Major surgery !"

   My left hip had been increasingly bothersome for a couple of years and my college friend, Dr. Ben Zambrana, assured me that I would know beyond doubt when surgery was indicated.  Both my younger brothers, each a veteran of several orthopedic surgeries, had expressed their incredulence that I had not joined the club, though I have had several non-orthopedic procedures.

   Dr. Z was right and 'my time' arrived. My physician assured me that my being 87 years old was not a deterrent, so plans proceeded for the 'grand opening'.  Somethings remain unchanged ----'dignity' quickly vanishes when the 'gown' complete with open derriere becomes the official uniform. On previous occasions, I received general anesthesia but  my surgeon  recommended the spinal option with a 'counsciousness suppressant'.  A logical but unanticipated result was my total paralysis below the waist.  Willing my legs to move became a futility, and increased my empathy with those for whom this is a permanent realtity.

   Lewis Grizzard once commented that "surgery will change your attitude towards narcotics". Beyond whatever pain-control meds may have been administered during the operation, I have had no narcotic  meds nor significant pain.  The anterior approach to the joint has significantly reduced post-op concerns.  Same day hospital discharge occurs frequently. By contrast, my brother, a retired orthopedic surgeon, remembered that 50 years ago when he began doing hip replacement surgery using the  posterior approach, patients stayed in the hospital for  a week.  Thereafter, they had to use a triangular pillow

between their legs when in bed for a month post op. 

   The title of a 1970's pop psychology book, I Ain't Well but  I Sure am Better, aptly describes my post op experience.  The first few days definitely are not 'do it yourself' challenges. Along with my wife, our son took vacation days and came in from L.A. to assist in the numerous necessary (and sometimes unpleasant) tasks.  Being alone in the immediate aftermath of hip surgery is a  HUGE no-no.

   If this procedure is in your future and you are near the Greensboro, North Carolina area, I give an unequivocable recomendation for Dr. Brian Swinteck of EmergeOrtho and for the staff at Wesley Long Hospital (of the Cone Health System.)

  Maybe the 'Cone' part was a  playful pun on the blanket a friend gave me : 

 

                                                                     4 days post op

    Someone asked "What does that surgery cost?"  While I do not yet have a final accounting, the benefit will be greater  than a monetary price tag ---as important as that reality may be.  Because of my age, Medicare and Medicare supplemental insurance likely will significantly reduce my personal responsibility.  HOWEVER, the future of that program as well as Medicaid apparently is facing strong political headwinds that could possibly mean that basic medical care as well as life-saving surgical procedures will be beyond the financial ability of many people. . . and that would be a MAJOR catastrophe !

     Satchel

Jocko, Pinko and other professor characters

 

                                                "Jocko"  with  award  from  Elon University

        What is your first thought when you hear the words "college professor"? . . . stick in the mud ?; too serious and unapproachable? ; absent-minded ?; or . . .?  Being a History Prof from 1968-1983, I knew that no one description fit the wide variety of my colleagues' personalities. Some were sure enough stodgy, others bright and witty, etc.  Then there were several that were fun to be with and to call friends.  Many, no, most are now deceased.  First comes the tennis coach, very much  alive  Tom Parham.  While he knew my name, he always greeted me with "Pinko"

  It all started in 1968 when someone in our apartments offered tickets to a Hubert Humphrey Political rally in Charlotte.  When I expressed interest, the person told my new friend Tom that the bearded History professor must be a  Communist.  Tom thought that was  a hoot and began good-naturately calling me  "Pinko".  His being a Phys Ed teacher and the Varsity tennis coach, I  thought an appropriate  moniker for him would be "Jocko".  And so, over the years those were our greetings to each other.

   While my career as a History professor ended in 1983, Tom coached tennis at Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College) and Elon University for 19 years at each  school. Along the way, his teams won three NAIA National Championships and he was named "Coach of the Year" on four occasions.  He has been elected to eight (8 !) Halls of Fame.

   Over the years, our contacts have been infrequent; still I have good memories and great appreciation for that friendship from the past.  All this came to mind recently while doing an internet search for a different matter and happened to spot a referencee to some of his post-retirement writings. Jocko knows how to tell a good story, as attested by the  inscription on the plaque above.   It was a pleasure reconnecting last week.

     Our correspondence brought to mind some of the other interesting and colorful colleagues from that era.  Allow me  to introduce a few: Ed outwardly portrayed a curmudgeonly old batchelor. Behind his sardonic New England wit was a very kind man.  At the beginning of every Friday class, he would unfurl his small TGIF flag; Dr. Mildred Hartsock, the venerable Chair of the English Department, endured many graduation ceremonies by drawing an outline of the U.S. on her bulletin and filling in the state borders; Norbert was a 'colorful' (pun intended) Art professor. At a faculty picnic, he achieved the nearly impossible feat of throwing a double ringer ahead of me. Imagine our surprise when I topped his ringers with two of my own, thereby negating his miracle; Tom M. drove the Humane Society's Animalance, a converted hearse. As running buddies, we often noted the irony of two middle-age men jogging through the streets of a cemetery in pursuit of health; Bill and Roger taught in the Religion Department. Bill later became a Seminary Dean and Roger was  a member of the translation team for the Good News for Modern Man Bible version; "Doc" Sanford once played first base for the Washington Senators; Eddie claimed to have been a German soldier in World War Two. Dr. Marshall questioned him about his unit and being something of a history buff recognized the group as  part of the destruction of the Czech town of Lidice. The conversation topic change abruptly.

    Then there were others. Maybe for a later time. For the most part, "thanks for the memories".

     Did you have any interesting teachers/professors

         Satchel

     

WHO WAS 'THAT' ?

   

        

                       Just prior to their deaths in 1951                            Wedding picture

                  My maternal grand-parents

"Mom has closets full of old pictures, without any identifiers. Old relatives and friends long since forgotten" my acquaintence told me.  She plannned a 'great throwing away party'. I offered an alternative idea: sell them to an antique dealer. 

  Just a few days before, we were in a local antique shop and  there they were . . . baskets of pictures of people in all kinds of attire, ceremonies, everyday life events. All of these with no or minimal identifications. Apparently, the items sell.

   Still, there is something sad about this. My parents' albums contained images that others wondered 'who was that?' The above  pictures of my grand-parents are an exception . . . for now. Hollie McKay in a recent Substack article about the losses in the California wildfire noted that "  things" are more than possesssions; they are the tangible connections to  loved ones, past chapters, and a sense of self. The family photographs aren't just pieces of paper --they are fragments of time, capturing moments you'll never get back."  She continued "Even the most minor, most mundane items .  . . are imbued with meaning."

  Back to those images in antiques stores:  I find it easy to conjure stories about those forgotten folks--- were they healthy, did they live rewarding lives, what were the occasions captured in those 'pieces of paper',etc.  

  It will take a biti of time but I plan to write identifiers on most of my important photographs so that some time in the s future, no one will need ask  "Who was    that?"  Here are a few of those needing attention:

 

 Can you identify all the folks in your collection ?

Satchel