Monday, March 18, 2013

What is Hip?

I grew up in Oakland, CA home of the funkiest band ever, Tower of Power:


This video is from 1973. I was 13, learning to play the drums and wishing I could play like Dave Garibaldi some day. Well, that day never came, but 40 years later I still love their music and they're still at it. It makes me very happy that our kids are also fans of the band. Maybe it's because the first concert we ever took them to was Tower of Power in Lake Tahoe when they were very young. There would always be plenty of TOP in the music rotation on family road trips. If you get the chance, go see them live and don't forget your dancing shoes because you won't be able to sit still.

This is also hip:


My right hip, to be exact. A normal hip has a dark gray area between the ball and socket of the hip joint. The dark stuff is cartilage which provides lubrication of the joint. The x-ray shows that mine is completely gone in my right hip - bone on bone. As I've mentioned before, I've been dealing with painful arthritis that was first diagnosed in 2008. It has slowly gotten worse over time and over the last year things have gone downhill quite a bit. I wanted to put it off as long as possible, because artificial hips only last so long and it's likely I'll need a revision before I'm done with my time Here. I'm at the stage now where the pain is constant, I am having to use a walking stick most of the time and am very limited in what I can do. I've finally had enough and am now on the path to get a full hip replacement on April 25. I'm expecting to be off work for about two months while I go through healing and rehabilitation after this major carpentry project. I'm having the surgery here in Placerville at Marshall Hospital by a relatively young surgeon I'll call Dr. H (for hip, get it?) I first saw him about my hip about a year and a half ago. At the time he said he'd be happy to do it then, but I should try to hang in there for a while for the reason I mentioned above. I can't say I'm looking forward to being sawed, hammered, routed and stitched up, but I am looking forward to being able to walk, sit, drive, photograph and live without constant pain. Maybe I'll even be able to play the drums again and pretend I'm Dave Garibaldi with Tower of Power cranked way up LOUD on the stereo.

Wish me luck. This isn't going to be fun, but like my friend David says who is fighting brain cancer, "getting old is not for pussies".

Peace and good health to you all.

-Kerik

7 comments:

  1. Hope you get well. It does suck being in constant pain... So break a leg as they say, and hope to still see you at Photostock this year?

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    1. Andy if I'm ready to travel by then, I will be there.

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  2. It has been tough watching you deal with that pain, Kerik. I can only imagine what it's been like toughing it out. You are certainly not among the "pussy" category with all of the traveling, teaching, photographing, and so on that you do. We'll be thinking of you these next few months.
    May you have a speedy recovery and be back on those feet again to share all your many talents with the world.

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  3. That sucks. I hope you the surgery is a great success and you have a speedy recovery. Get better - we all need you.

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  4. Two friends of mine felt ohhhh so much better after they had their hip surgeries even though one or two doctors told them they were young enough to postpone them. I'm glad you're goin' for it!

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  5. Kerik - sorry to hear that your hip has been giving you grief. Getting old bites and it isn't for ther faint of heart, but I can see that your homour is intact... better to laugh at your problems than to cry about them. Best of luck and let me know if need anything and we'll do what we can to accomodate!

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  6. All the best Kerik. I have no idea how you've put up with the pain all this time. I tore a muscle alongside my hip and it hurt like a bitch for weeks, nearly drove me nuts, but at least it was treatable with physio. Hope this works as well as advertised!

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