By Eric W. Schoen
Bit by bit, Putting it together…
Piece by Piece-Only way to make a work of art.
Every moment makes a contribution, Every little detail plays a part.
Having just a vision’s no solution, Everything depends on execution:
Putting it together-That’s what counts!
I was debating opening with ‘Putting it Together’ by Stephen Sondheim from the Broadway musical ‘Sunday in the Park with George’ or Mother Goose’s ‘Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall.’ But I shall be put together again!
So my journey continues. Around the holidays I shared with you that I was having gastric sleeve surgery right after Christmas to lose weight. December 28 to be exact. 60+ pounds lighter, I am ready for the next step or steps…getting a new right and left knee. A week from when this article is published I will have a new right knee. 6-8 weeks later I will have a new matching left knee.
So many people I know, many much older than I am have had successful knee surgery and are back to business within Several weeks. When I look at my close family tree, no one I can think of has had a joint replacement. So it is a bit scary for me.
But as my doctors say, it’s a piece of (not allowed on my diet) cake. The procedure is done thousands of time every day of the year.
I have a great surgeon who wants to stabilize my walking and then work on my back. Makes a lot of sense. It’s like building a building. You have to have a good foundation in place before you can add the various levels.
I have had scoliosis since I was a child. Doctors, some of the leading scoliosis specialists in the country did not want to operate unless I was in pain. The older you get, the back does not get any better. If I wait another 10 years they won’t be able to operate on my back. Hopefully they won’t have to because back surgery, particularly in my case is a big deal.
We are hoping that with new knees I will receive some relief from my back pain. But the body acts in mysterious ways. All you can do is hope and pray for the best and let master surgeons and God do their work.
There are so many doctors in this country and my experience has been that everyone thinks their doctor is the best. If someone tells you they are having surgery wish them well and tell them you are praying for them. Don’t put doubt in their minds by saying, ‘Oh, I know Doctor X. He has performed surgeries on many of my friends. You should see him.’
People do that so much in the country. How Do you think that makes the person about to undergo surgery feel? They don’t need to have anyone put any doubt in their minds as to whether or not they have selected the best doctor to do their surgery.
Trust me. Most people going for orthopedic surgery or frankly for any surgery have had numerous consultations before they make the decision to proceed. And each person going for surgery has different needs.
When someone sees me on a bad back day and says, ‘Have you tried Chiropractic?’ I laugh. Trust me, in this day and age no one is considering surgery unless they have tried everything else!
So my journey continues. I might miss a week or two here or there sharing my humble thoughts with you in these newspapers or on the WVOX radio show. Forgive me. But you know me. I won’t hibernate when there is a need to be heard!
And please, make sure your child and loved ones are checked for scoliosis. It’s easy to do and easier to correct in a younger person!
Briefs:
Don’t be shocked if you see a lime green bicycle (or two) standing tall like I did on the corner of Nepperhan Avenue by the BP station and funeral homes on Tuesday. Actually don’t be shocked if you see a lime green bicycle ‘on the street where you live.’ Yonkers this week started a bicycle share program. Unlike the New York City program that has docking stations where you can pick up and drop off bicycles, the Yonkers program is GPS based and you can find out through the LimeBike app where there is a bike for you to pick up in town. Interesting concept! But please, make sure you know what you are doing when you spin the lime wheels around town. It scares me when I see folks from Omaha riding CitiBikes, the New York City program in Times Square.
The County Legislature is considering a bill that will limit Coop Board Actions on applications to 45 days and demand mandatory disclosure from the Coop Board as to the reasons for rejecting an applicant. If they have all the information on an applicant Coop Boards should be able to act within 45 days and the applicants have a right to know why they were rejected!
The Journal News ran a story on the weather being crazy around here. Up until 10 or 15 years ago we didn’t have the craziness that we have now weather wise. That craziness occurred mainly to my friends in Florida and the Caribbean. What happened? Did we do something wrong? Let’s hope those without power in our area get it back by this weekend.
The unions were out in force Monday night at the budget hearing at City Hall. So were people representing the library and many other institutions in Yonkers. Want to read an interesting report issued last month (that was referenced extensively at the meeting) on Yonkers finances?
The link is http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/cities/2018/yonkers2017M119.pdf or simply google State Comptroller 2018 Report Yonkers Finances. It’s shocking! To show you how non-partisan the report is, you have the Democratic State Comptroller criticizing the Democratic Yonkers Mayor!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM or download the SIMPLE RADIO app for free from the APP STORE
