Grrrrr!

So back in September I got an X-ray on my hip, which was not as flexible as it should be. The GP's receptionist then confirmed that there were signs of osteoarthritis and suggested I come back when it gets worse.

Well I eventually did go back as it sometimes doesn't feel right when I'm walking and very occasionally I'll stand up and get a sharp pain.

My GP said there are early signs in my left hip but "advanced disease" in the right! What a shock! He asked what I was using for pain relief (which is nothing).

This was a very unpleasant surprise. I don't know whether to feel unlucky to have developed osteoarthritis (to the extent that would justify a hip replacement if it was painful enough) or lucky that the symptoms have, so far, been minor.

A visit to the physiotherapist at the hip-and-knee clinic confirmed that nothing will influence the course of the disease, nothing much will exacerbate the disease, and there's no telling how quickly it will get worse (but it surely will), but there are exercises which may help with the symptoms.

Needless to say I'm now going to be spending a significant fraction of the day doing exercises and also packing as much travelling/exploring as I can into the time I have left before the symptoms increase. And I now feel that the trip to see DSO last November (cost = £3.60 per minute of live music) was completely justified!

But undoubtedly the worst implication of this diagnosis is that Rivett/Rivett are, now, unlikely ever to consistently beat Jackson/Jackson at our weekly mixed tennis matches. For the best part of 10 years we have lost to the Jacksons nearly every Monday night. And now our strategy of playing the long game (under the assumption that John, as the oldest of the group, would slow down significantly before we did) seems to have been erroneous. Bugger.