"Robert Reed - X-Country" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reed Robert)

the first in a series of increasingly expensive doctors, ending up sitting on the end of
an exam table while an expert on joint diseaseтАФa young woman barely in her
thirtiesтАФcalmly explained what was wrong with me and what she proposed to do
about it.

тАЬTitanium,тАЭ I heard, followed by the words, тАЬYou are a lucky man.тАЭ

тАЬLucky? How?тАЭ I asked.

тАЬOur new hips are quite reliable,тАЭ she promised. тАЬUnder normal conditions,
you can expect twenty or thirty years of use. And of course thereтАЩs always the
chance that new materials will come onto the market. Bioceramics. Or perhaps, living
hips grown from your own bone tissue.тАЭ

тАЬIтАЩm fifty-three.тАЭ

But she didnтАЩt understand my point. With a professional grin and minimal
charm, she explained, тАЬWe donтАЩt need to operate in the near-future.
Anti-inflammatories and a change of habits should delay surgery for a year, perhaps
eighteen months. Depending on your personal tolerances, of course.тАЭ

тАЬI am fifty-three years old,тАЭ I repeated.

She blinked. тАЬPardonтАФ?тАЭ
 тАЬIтАЩll never run again,тАЭ I blurted. тАЬThatтАЩs what youтАЩre telling me. Maybe weтАЩll
be growing hips like corn in another twenty years, but by then, IтАЩll be in my seventies
and desperately out of shape.тАЭ

тАЬOh, but youтАЩll still be able to ride a bike and swim, and you can use a
low-impact exercise machinery, within limits.тАЭ

тАЬI know old runners with artificial joints,тАЭ I said. тАЬThey always try to bike and
swim. But they gain weight anyway, and they lose their fitness, and regardless of age,
they become fat old people.тАЭ

The doctor had no canned answers at the ready. She looked at the bright
screen before her, studying an assortment of images of naked bones and a single
decaying socket. Then with fingers to her lips, she added, тАЬYou know, Don ... other
than this one sad hip, youтАЩre in excellent condition for a gentleman of your age....тАЭ

****

Upon hearing my news, runners had a standard reaction. Surprise and
uncamouflaged horror swept across their faces, and probably feeling aches inside
their own hips, they would blurt the same reflexive words.

тАЬYouтАЩll be back.тАЭ

Their hope was delivered with an identical tone of voice, reflexively optimistic
and minimally informed. The only exception was Kip. Watching my limping