Last week, an acquaintance asked me why I was limping, and a few days ago another said she noticed that my legs seemed crooked when I walked. I didn't think I limped noticeably, at least not when I'm wearing my "special shoe," and of course I have no idea what my legs, or any other part of me for that matter, look like when I'm walking. So those things don't bother me, though I'm probably paying attention to those remarks so as to justify any surgery. What does bother me is the sounds I hear when I'm walking. The pain is mostly minimal, and stops when I do, so that would not be a decisive factor. But what the crunching sound means to me is that the bones are wearing on each other and further erosion seems inevitable----as long as I am moving around. I don't want to be like the guy in the TV commercial who exclaims, "I was bone on bone!" He seems so proud of it somehow, but I guess that's because the elderly often become one with their afflictions, their faithful constant companions when others have fallen by the wayside.
I belong to an organization wherein people travel for miles and spend thousands of dollars, out of pocket when necessary, to preserve their vision. Some are elderly, some are much younger. Sometimes patients travel alone, over considerable distances, with no one to accompany them, to seek the optimal sight-saving surgery. The surgery is usually out-patient, but the patient needs to stay nearby for checks over a few or several days, and is not to remain alone for at least the first night. The patients with no one accompanying them make their own travel arrangements and hotel accommodations, often with the assistance of the surgical center, and when necessary arrange for a paid attendant to help them, until released by the doctor. I figure if they can do it, so can I.
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