My hip is at the end of its useful life. I can see why people used to die at my age as a matter of course. My hip hurts. I don’t want to move. I think when you stop moving, that’s how the dying starts. I’m living in a golden age of sorts. I’ve got insurance and access to miraculous prosthesis replacement. A new hip is scheduled for March, as long as I lose some of the weight I’ve gained with the bum hip. I have to admit, I feel guilty about such privileges often. To my fellow Americans who don’t have insurance or means for the surgery. And to my friends in other countries, where clean water would be a big improvement to their lives, and the health care we enjoy only something they can dream of for their great grandkids.
I know, surgery or not, I’ve got to keep moving. Motion is the lotion. Move it or lose it. I get it. So I started swimming when we got back from Hawaii (another privilege!). Then the snow came. I tried cross country skiing – my favorite sport- but didn’t make it a mile the first day. Crap, was the hip sore afterward. And me out of shape. The hip feels like that tendon linking the ball to the hip socket that you have to cut to get the hind quarter of a deer to let loose is not there anymore. The hip ball sort of flops around in the socket. Sometimes it’s not so much that it’s painful as it just doesn’t work very well. And other times, it’s like that, and hurts too.
But with sunny days and daytime temperatures in the 20’s or low 30’s, I keep going. I’ve gradually increased skiing to over a mile, which still isn’t very far, but better than nothing. The doctor and Teri told me to get the hip muscles in as good a shape as I can before surgery so recovery will be easier. I’m also filling up the wood locker at home. That involves more movement in one place splitting and stacking, so I get a good workout but don’t work the hip so hard. And it’s my other favorite exercise alongside cross country skiing.
When I got to the lake today, who did I see coming off the lake but my good friend Bob and his wife Sylvia. Shit, did Bob look good. He’s had some kind of bad, bad cancer he’s been fighting. And winning. Last time I saw him he was a little wobbly on one of his legs from cancer treatment, and going to physical therapy when we met, to gain some strength back. Today, he was beaming on his first day skiing, and said they’d be back tomorrow! Seeing him made my whole day. My whole month. Bob has always been a spiritual guy since I’ve known him, and I could see he’s been taking everything one day at a time and that his outlook is what may be giving him the strength with his illness.
We said our goodbyes. I told them to let me know if they need anything. I get them fish and game as I can, since Bob can’t get out for it. What he and his wife can do, however, is garden, and he keeps us in zucchini, which we surely enjoy as a special treat as he does the seafood and venison.
I stepped into my skis and started off across the lake towards the glacier in the distance. I was soon out of the shade and into the sunshine. This is why I live here, I thought. As I skied, I also thought of another friend battling bad, bad cancer. Bob’s probably 15 years or so older than me. But this friend is my age. Actually, a tad younger than me. Both of them were in good physical shape when they got diagnosed. Better shape than me, for sure. This friend is not the same kind of spiritual as Bob is, but is in his own way. His one day at a time, thankful for his present being, is similar to Bob. He looked pretty good when I dropped him off some shrimp from our trip last week. Both of them are winning at the present moment.
All the thinking and the sunshine made the skiing alot easier today. I wasn’t thinking about my hip or anything else till I was on the homestretch back to start point at the shoreline. Then I had to take a few breathers. Crap, I’m out of shape. But thankful for living in this place and having two good people I’m lucky to call friends still keeping on keeping on.