Konza Sailor, June 2004, page 7

As some of you may already know, since this winter I am the very pleased recipient of a pair of replacement hips. Yes: they do set off airport security gates. No: I did not have to display some magic card (yet), even though I did think it wise to get one. The TSA people are duty-bound to assess the risk of whatever abnormality they discover,

so they have to wave their wands around me.

None of that has much bearing on the yacht club, but it may satisfy some mild curiosity. So here comes the good news that does fit with the interests of sailors: I have made friends again with a sailboard, and have found it more fun than last year, possibly even more than the year before. I did sail a little last year, early on. But by the end of summer the mailbox had moved itself almost beyond my reach, even with the help of a cane.

On top of that, we adopted a 'guided dog' last summer, a gorgeous black lab who - literally - had a face-full of buckshot a half year before we came to know him. Impressive surgery and care had preserved his eyes, but not his sight. Dogs do need to walk, so for a while it was - again literally - the halt leading the blind.

All that is now becoming old stuff, with the joy of long walks, and exhilarating spins on the lake. It has not quite come to screaming planes with feet in the straps, but I had not reached that stage anyway on the more fickle board I bought a three years ago. Something to aim for this summer. Tacking seems to be easier than it was. It may be mere wishful thinking, but could also be a result of better balance and mobility. Standing up is definitely much easier: that was close to undoable last summer.

It all leaves me in awe of what the medical folk can do these days. Credit belongs to Dr. Daniel Gurba at the Kansas City Orthopedic Institute, who put the two foot-long daggers inside me, the first in a sleep gap of 2.5 hours, the second even faster. Some minor inconveniences remain: for the several weeks of 'partial load' I