05/17/07 Get a new one

Get a New One Ranch life and cowboy fun can be pretty hard on body parts. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to tell you what can be done about that. The bumps, bruises, and wrecks of ranch work can take its toll on the human body, couple that with the twists, strains and down right mashes of cowboy fun called rodeo and some body parts just can't hold up for a lifetime. I read an article in America's Horse by Becky Newell that got me thinking how lucky we are to live in a time when shoulders, knees and hips can be repaired and even replaced. Johnny Weil is a professional calf roper who started having pain in his hip he attributed to muscle stain. But, even with rest, the pain continued to get worse until he couldn't compete any more. X-rays revealed the 31 year old's hip looked more like a man of 75 years old. Doctors said total hip replacement would end his calf roping, which was not what Johnny had in mind. Through a different doctor's opinion and some research he found a procedure for resurfacing the hip joint and after a painful first month post surgery, he was riding again in three months. Six months after surgery, Johnny was competing in and winning calf-roping contests. My friend, Dale totally wrecked his hip in a bulldogging accident. Reconstructive surgery gave him partial, painful use of that hip for about 25 years. His total hip replacement felt so good he didn't need crutches in three weeks and in six weeks after surgery he was riding his horse and competing in team roping jackpots. Hey  if your joints don't work anymore, just get a new one. I'm Jeff Keane. America's Horse May 2007