From the Bleachers
with Rich Summers
I have long been an advocate of youth sports, from little league through high school, but in my old age I am starting to wonder if the human body was meant for serious competition. My wife’s recent knee surgery and two knee replacements performed on my old college fraternity brother are reminding me that there is a price to pay for older folks playing competitive sports as youths.
Karen had her left knee “cleaned up” with arthroscopic surgery last week as her cartilage had frayed and just about totally disintegrated, making it impossible for her to walk without pain for the last year or so. There are some things that can be done to stave off replacement but I’m afraid that will be in her future. And I directly relate that to the fact that she had played softball for all of her youth and was even still playing with the Schumacher’s Inn team in a Coudersport league when we were married in 1989.