[Leica] IMG: Liechtenstein Hike --- KNEE REPLACEMENT!

[Ted Grant]

Hi Montie,
To add a bit to Tina's good words. Here's another replacement story but on
the right shoulder. 1992 on assignment in Russia I was shooting in a huge
graveyard where the grass hadn't been cut low enough and I tripped over an
unseen buried headstone

I had the choice of dropping a motor driven R8 with the LEICA super wide
15mm lens and possibly saving myself? ....... "TRUST ME YOU HANG ONTO THE
CAMERA and LENS FIRMLY! AND TAKE THE BLOW TO SHOULDER BONE. Oh it hurt for
quite sometime. But I had been shooting in one of the "ordinary folks
hospitals" during the previous weeks and trust me I think I would die first
rather than be attended to in one of them.  However big difference in
hospitals for the Politburo folks. Super medical  care. Peasants??????
aaaaaaaaaccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkk!

I just let it be and loaded with pain killers, eventually it ---- the pain
sort of went away. Move to 1994 May: a couple of days after my 65th birthday
and during lunch all I sort of heard was...... "Hey ted are you in??????" My
response? "Yeah sure!" 
Now remember, I didn't actually hear what I said I was in for to do?
  
My secretary/assistant offered... "You really didn't hear what you are going
to do, did you?"  My response? "Oh play some stupid game on Saturday!"
Without another consideration. 

HER RESPONSE?

"No, you said you're going to jump out of an airplane with a parachute!" My
response? "Hey cool! I always wanted to do that! Of course without telling
my wife Irene beforehand.:-) 

So I did the jump and it was the most thrilling ride I have ever
had............ accept the landing!!:-( " Remember this started out about
replacing body parts? Well I came in a bit faster and whacked the same right
shoulder from the previous two years before! "DAMN! OUCH BIGTIME!"

And that's how and why I had my right shoulder replaced with a Titanium ball
fitting into the shoulder socket! But now I can hold my Leica's to my left
good eye without any pain!

Medically replacing knees, hips and shoulders these days are basically a
piece of cake for the good doctors and their crew!

So if you must have a replacement? Just pop in the hospital, get fixed (( no
not "fixed that way")))  And you're out in a few days to a week fit as a
king! Oh it might give you a bit of a bite for a few days. But that will
eventually go away! It's far better than not having it done and the pain
becoming worse to a point you can't cope nor walk anymore.

Good luck!

cheers,
Dr. ted :-)