Well, let me tell you ’bout this Mary Lou Retton, you know, the little gymnast girl, all spunky and whatnot. Heard she had a bad hip, real bad. Hip surgery, they say. Imagine that! A young thing like her, all twistin’ and turnin’, no wonder somethin’ gave out.
Now, I ain’t no doctor, but they say she was born with somethin’ called hip… hip dys… dys somethin’. Means her hip wasn’t put together right, like a crooked fence post. Poor thing, musta been hurtin’ somethin’ fierce. But she was tough, that girl, always smilin’, even when she was flippin’ and floppin’ on them bars.
They fixed her up though, back in 2005. She was only 37, still young enough to be jumpin’ around, I reckon. Total hip replacement, they called it. Sounded scary to me, like takin’ the whole dang leg off and puttin’ on a new one. But she done it, went through it all. Said she wasn’t even scared. Brave little thing, I tell ya.
- She was born with somethin’ wrong with her hip, hip dys… whatever it’s called.
- They had to give her a whole new hip, a total replacement.
- She did it when she was 37 years old, still a young’un.
This hip thing, it wasn’t the only trouble she had. Heard she got real sick last year, somethin’ with her lungs. Pneumonia, they called it. Almost died, they said. My goodness, that poor girl been through the wringer. But she’s a fighter, that Mary Lou. Always bounces back, like a rubber ball.
Remember that time, back in ’84? She was just a slip of a girl, 16 years old, tiny as a minute. But strong, Lord, she was strong. Won a gold medal, she did, made the whole country proud. We were all glued to the TV, watchin’ her do her thing. She was somethin’ special, that’s for sure.
And now, she’s talkin’ ’bout this hip surgery, tellin’ folks how it helped her get back to her life. Fast-paced life, she calls it. I bet she’s still runnin’ around, doin’ this and that. Can’t keep a good woman down, they say. And Mary Lou, she’s a good woman, a strong woman.
Mary Lou Retton’s hip surgery, it’s a story about fightin’ back, about not lettin’ nothin’ hold you down. It’s a story about bein’ tough, even when things get hard. And it’s a story about how even the strongest folks sometimes need a little help, a little fixin’ up. But they come back, stronger than ever. Just like Mary Lou.
This hip problem, it made her life hard for a while, but it didn’t stop her. She got it fixed and kept on goin’. That’s the kind of person she is, always movin’ forward, always lookin’ ahead. And that’s why we all love her, I reckon. She’s one of us, a regular gal, even with all them medals and fancy moves. She’s just Mary Lou, and she’s a fighter.
So, next time you’re feelin’ down, next time you think you can’t go on, just think about Mary Lou. Think about her flippin’ and flyin’, think about her fightin’ through that hip pain, think about her comin’ back from bein’ sick. And then, you just pick yourself up and keep on goin’. ‘Cause if Mary Lou can do it, so can you.
This hip surgery stuff, it ain’t no joke. It’s a big deal, a serious thing. But it can also be a lifesaver, a way to get back to doin’ the things you love. And that’s what Mary Lou did. She got herself fixed up and went back to livin’ her life, her fast-paced life. And that’s somethin’ to admire, ain’t it?
So, let’s all raise a glass to Mary Lou Retton, the little gymnast girl who became a strong woman. Let’s celebrate her strength, her courage, and her determination. And let’s remember that even when things get tough, we can always bounce back. Just like Mary Lou.
Tags: Mary Lou Retton, Hip Surgery, Hip Replacement, Olympic Gymnast, Health, Recovery, Hip Dysplasia