<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Hello Mark,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> Diabetes?My god! What’s happening to us old folks? How long ago were you diagnosed with diabetes. I know Trump RX sells medications but I’m not sure about durable medical equipment, (DME.) We want to check this out ourselves due to Mary’s needing a wheelchair. The trouble is getting her insurance to cover the cost. Luckily she has trust money available but that money needs to last as long as she lives. If her insurance will cover the wheelchair she’ll run less of a chance of busting the trust. This will be important due to her upcoming knee surgery. Read on:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> For quite a while Mary has had chronic pain in both knees. Nonsurgical remedies such as injections have failed to give her results leading to consider having knee replacement surgery. It's more properly known as knee resurfacing. Due to herscoliosis and lymphedema Mary is a high-risk case. Since we wanted to avoid Mary being sent to various doctors who most likely weren't experienced with high-risk knee replacement surgery we decided to go to the University of Texas Health System in San Antonio Texas.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> This past Tuesday we met with Dr. Frank A. Buttacavoli an Orthopedic Surgeon with UT Health who specializes in high-risk cases. His last name is pronounced with a short "U." Our meeting with him was preceded by Mary having x-rays of both knees. After Dr. Buttacavoli's staff gathered more information we met with one of his residents before we met Dr. Buttacabvoli who simply introduced himself as "Frank." Not wanting to mistake Frank as another resident we asked if he was Dr. Buttacavoli at which time he told us he was. It's not every doctor's office you go to where the doctor introduces himself by his first name. He probably does that due to the tongue-twisting nature of his last name. It's a nice Italian name. Before I go any further we'll let you hear from him via the YouTube link below. Pressing "Enter" will activate this link:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fLKrv6jJ3s">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fLKrv6jJ3s</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> Dr. Buttacavoli told us that Mary's right knee has lost just about all of its cartilage. This is the material between the knee joints that prevents bones like the Feemer and the tibia, (The upper and lower leg bones) from "Kissing each other" what is also known as bone-on-bone contact and along with bone spurs causes chronic knee pain. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> The two main obstacles Mary must overcome for the knee replacement to occur is control of her lymphedema and knowing how the knee replacement will effect her ability to walk. The big dog is the limphedema which causes swelling of limbs such as one's legs and feet. It can also result in non-healing wounds that require a wound care specialist to treat. Both of us have been to that rodeo several times as recently as last year. Dr. Buttacavoli referred Mary to a Dr. Fries, (Pronounced Freeze) for evaluation and treatment of her limphedema. Dr. Fries along with an infexious disease specialist will need to clear her for the knee replacement operation to proceed. As Dr. Buttacavoli told us, "We need to be sure the limphedema is well controlled before we put metal and plastic in her knee. Prosthetic knee joints are made of metal and plastic and can be viewed by the body as foreign resulting in an infection.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> Mary will have more x-rays and a CT scan closer to the time of surgery. Right now the main focus is controlling the risk of infection and treating external wounds such as an ulcer that was discovered by our podiatrist today.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> When we have more news we'll share it. For now we want you to keep us in your prayers and thoughts so all of these obstacles can be overcome for the knee replacement surgery to occur possibly later this year. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Do you by any chance know other blind people that have had joint replacements? Another gentleman in town who is also blind Larry Johnson had one of his hips replaced 5 years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> Have you tried working with artificial intelligence yet? Here we use Gemini for a lot of things from creating maps for our drivers to researching various subjects. We’ve been using Gemini to research knee replacement surgery, prehabilitation, and post-op rehabilitation and have found it to be extremely helpful. Folks are using AI for everything from doing research, managing their business affairs,writing books, creating images and videos, and even writing music. You can feed Gemini a prompt with lyrics and it will turn it into a song you’d think was professionally recorded. It would have been wonderful if it was around when we were in school.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> I’m currently drafting what I’m calling my “Great big beautiful AI prompt!” I’ve researched a number of events that occurred in my past and made some very interesting discoveries. This great big beautiful AI prompt I’m writing concerns a situation both of us lived through. If something is going to stay around in my mind I’m putting it to constructive use. If AI can make discoveries we can use to help others deal with matters like this they’ll be better off for it and everyone will be a winner. The prompt creation is still in progress.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> Here’s hoping you can upgrade your glucometer so you’ll be better able to track your diabetes. By the way did you ever remarry? Mary and I will have been married for 41 years on March 23, 2026. All the best. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> Peter Donahue<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>