More backpacking, the titanium hip is golden :D

Just curious - since there is a 20 (or less) year lifespan on your new hardware, is habitual hiking a good thing to be doing? Or do you plan on croaking before then? As healthy a lifestyle you live, I bet you easily make it into your eighties, and you surely don't want to replace it at that age.
 
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  • #29
Fair point, Butch. But I'd rather replace it at 80 than miss out on the things I love doing just to "protect" the prosthesis. After all, that's why I had the work done in the first place. And who knows how fantastic the technology will be in 20 years...I'd like the next one to have the on-board fuel cell option :D.
 
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80 year olds don't bounce back from major surgery so well, but I hear ya. I guess your doc said it was cool?
 
Burnham said:
Fair point, Butch. But I'd rather replace it at 80 than miss out on the things I love doing just to "protect" the prosthesis. After all, that's why I had the work done in the first place. And who knows how fantastic the technology will be in 20 years...I'd like the next one to have the on-board fuel cell option :D.
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:thumbup: live it up!
 
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Actually, he didn't say it was cool at all Butch. But he accepted my choices in the matter, with reservations and some warnings. After all, I hired him to do the work, not run my life.

He also acknowleged that I do not fit the profile of his average patient. No other health issues, no excess weight, in superb physical condition, for my age. I can do far more with this artificial joint than is expected, in terms of range of motion, and my musculature is in sufficient shape to offer support and mitigate shock loading, which is his major concern.

It's a risk I'm willing to take.
 
I would think that remaining active, prosthesis or not, would be the best thing B could do in retirement. It would be a crime to see a guy in his health starting getting rusty and overweight. Keep on keeping on, B. I hope to be in your position one day. I doubt I will.
 
gf beranek said:
I'm no mountain climber, but I sure love the mountains. It refreshes my life every time I go to the alpine forests and see craggy peaks capped in snow.
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:thumbup::thumbup: Yes! Mountains are kind of magic. I don't get to see them nearly enough so when I do, they enthrall. I wonder, those that live in or near them, do you get "sick of them" or blasé about them from familiarity or do they always impress?
 
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Always...near 40 years I've been here in the PNW, moved from my "country" of birth down south as a young adult, seeking exactly what I have found...the mountains never get blase' for me, Cory.

No, Chris...make it so by planning and actively seeking the path to your vision. You have the strength of will to get to whatever place you desire, of this I am sure.
 
Speaking of being in good shape, Jasper sure looks fantastic for his age. Good musculature and bearing.
Can't beat that hybrid vigour, eh!
 
Way to go, B. It brings joy just to hear you're doing so much better in body and spirit. 30 years it wouldn't have been in the cards, I think. Modern medicine is remarkable for those that can afford and have access to it. You're a lucky man. Congrats!!
 
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stig said:
Speaking of being in good shape, Jasper sure looks fantastic for his age. Good musculature and bearing.
Can't beat that hybrid vigour, eh!
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No argument, here, though he does seem to have a tendency to discomfort in the hips, as many a shepard breed shows. The reality is, an active life from puppyhood on, and attention to food portion control so the weight nevers gets to be an issue...truth to tell, same as we humans should do for our own well-being :), seems to be standing Jasper in good stead.

gf beranek said:
Way to go, B. It brings joy just to hear you're doing so much better in body and spirit. 30 years it wouldn't have been in the cards, I think. Modern medicine is remarkable for those that can afford and have access to it. You're a lucky man. Congrats!!
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Again, no argument Jer. I'm blessed with good health insurance as a benefit of my federal employment...a hip replacement runs on average about $60,000 here in the US, though the range of cost is stunning...over $200,000 in Monteray, CA, less than $35,000 in Charlotte, NC. Here in NW Oregon, if you had no insurance it would cost you about $50,000...under my health insurance program it was $200 out of pocket for the surgery and hospital stay.

Blessed is right!
 
There was some deal about somebody going to Europe and having some similar work done for $13k including the airfare and some rehab/ PT. Anybody know about it (documentary or the like)?
 
I hear you about the 'shock loading'...one of my mentors had double knee replacement at 71, he's now 77 and I worked with him this summer, he was rock hopping below me on the coast, one handing a 200t, wearing crocs, while I was dismantling the bigger trees he 'couldn't handle', only issue he has is if he trips a bit, lifting his leg up quickly is a bit tricky !!!!! Heart like a teenager, fit, just a nightmare when using a saw!
 
Great pictures Burnham, glad everything is working well.8)



SouthSoundTree said:
There was some deal about somebody going to Europe and having some similar work done for $13k including the airfare and some rehab/ PT. Anybody know about it (documentary or the like)?
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A lot go to Thailand, I wouldn't recommend the package deal ones. A few stories here about people getting stuck there if something goes wrong and costing a lot to get home.

$10,000US at the Bumrungrad International Hospital for a week. http://www.bumrungrad.com/en/orthopedic-surgery-care/orthopedic-hip-replacement-surgery-thailand
 
flushcut said:
Sounds like the making of a horror movie.:lol:
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It's shocking...but the man is awesome, some day he'll trip and die with a saw embedded in his chest and a big smile on his face because he was killing invasives and reclaiming nesting sites and restoring habitat...he's a legend.

On another job we did this summer he was hacking away with a machete and hit his shin...15 mins sit down, some swearing and a box of band aids he was back in business !
 
At 64 now I'm feeling the effects of time. Damn ankles took a beating through most of it, and today, by the time I get about 6 miles under my hoof, I'm limping back to the car. And to boot, my knees have started giving some sore report on steep downhill. Dang it.

Good news is I lost 20 pounds in the last two months. So I don't have to pack that extra fat around now. I can feel it, too. Ha!
 
One of our local Dr.s flew to India with his wife twice for two different hip replacement surgeries for her. He told me the price (including a 5 star hotel for recovery prior to coming home) and I was shocked. I have had ER shat that cost almost as much for a lot less type of procedures.
 
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