At age 71 my husband had his hip replaced. Himself is very fit and lean and approaches everything with an extremely positive attitude. The hip was almost at the fracture point when he underwent surgery. He spent four days in hospital and seven at a rehab hospital. He followed all the instructions to the letter and one month (to the day!) after surgery he was driving. We were blessed by having one of the top surgeons in the Philadelphia perform the procedure AND the insurance coverage to pay for it. Four years on he's still grateful he had it done.

MAG you might want to consider taking milk thistle supplements to protect your kidneys from the VIOXX.

Deckman and Mudlark I hope you're both up and about pain free very soon.