Hospitals can be for the "hip" too

Hospitals are rarely thought of as places that people really want to go, unless of course you are ill enough to need those kinds of services; and if you are that sick, then you ordinarily just don't have the sense to even worry about it. I remember being that sick once that I didn't care what they did to me, so long as the doctors, nurses, and other staff just took care of me. That can be very frightening, but you have to trust the people who are providing your care. Consequently, you probably wouldn't think of a hospital as a "hip" joint, would you? However, for one of my sisters, it turned out that the hospital was the only way to keep her "hip", and let me tell you how.

When my sister, affectionately known as "Tootie Pie", was about 6 or 7 she developed a limp. Initially, it was thought that she had injured herself in some fashion, maybe falling off the swing set in the back yard. She and another of my sisters would routinely climb around the swing set, using it as a balance beam or some other piece of gymnastic equipment, so who knows what they could have done? It was not uncommon to see them performing these "acts" even in their petticoats right after Sunday morning church services too. Since her limp didn't seem to resolve over the usual time frame, my Father began to get a little more suspicious that something serious was to blame for the impaired gait. After some investigation, it was determined that she was suffering from Legg Calve Perthe disease which compromises the normal growth of the hip joint, and its treatment was a prescription of strict bed rest. Well, how could you expect an energetic young child to follow a routine of strict non-weight bearing? Impossible, particularly if you had 7 other energetic siblings at the ready. The solution was to place her in a convalescent hospital, and the only one around was not nearby at all; so off to Lake Ville she went.

Visits were mostly on the weekends; my parents, my Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts, and the siblings in various combinations would make the 3 hour trip to see her. I just remember asking myself, "Why does she have to stay at this hospital so far away?" The distant confinement obviously was successful because she has had no long term complications from this childhood malady.

Yes, hospitals are generally not cool places to be, but they do serve a purpose. If my sister hadn't been confined in this manner, I suspect that her hip joint would have disintegrated long since, and that may have changed her life in ways unknown to all of us. Happy Birthday sister, and I just want to wish you continued good health for this year and for many more years to come. Just remember, if you hadn't followed the doctor's advice, you may not have those 2 good legs to stand on today, and that wouldn't be "2" hip now, would it?