Donny, I spent 15 years working in cardio-pulmonary medicine. I saw things that would make most people throw up. What you saw at Walter Reed pales in comparison to what you encounter working in a big city hopsital emergency room. Keep in mind that more people were killed by gunshot wounds in Baltimore last week than soldiers killed in action last year.

I'm 35-pounds overweight, most of which I'll loose this summer while sailing. My problem with my knee, while quite painful, is NOT operable. I have a bone spur trying to punch a hole through my Patella Tendon where it connects to the Tibia. It is not surgically correctable and I just have to live with the pain.

Unfortunately, I also have asbestosis, which is an insidious disease that will eventually kill me. With any kind of luck, I've have a massive heart attack first and drop dead on the job while playing like Jerry Lee, but so far that, obviously, hasn't happened. The progression of the asbestosis is such that in the next two years I'll be forced to get out of the entertainment biz. It's the nature of the beast.

In a few minutes I'll be on the treadmill, trying my best to hold onto what I have, physically, but I know that's not possible. I learned a lot in the time I worked in the medical field, probably too much. Fortunately, I learned how to tell the difference between a good doctor and a bad one, and there are a lot more bad ones out there than good ones. Just because they went to medical school and got their doctorate doesn't mean they're competent physicians and surgeons.

Good luck,

Gary