pibit's blog

ON the 23rd of January I turned 93. Hard to believe with all I've been through, but here I am-still alert. still able to play chess, still drive, and with my power chairs I have a radius of 3 miles for activity or shopping. I have been diagnosed with stage one Lung cancer and am having breathing problems, so I am not sure how much longer I will be around-that is up to Lord.

I just celebrated my 91st birthday (yesterday 1/23/22). Thought I would let you know, I am still active, still driving despite being wheelchair bound the last 10 years and can still play chess and beat the youngsters. God bless you all.

I celebrated my 90th birthday yesterday. Thought I would share this with other PFFDs. I am still quite active, live alone, able to drive and can still play a strong game of chess. The best advise I can give is always remember it's the ability NOT the disability that counts. Keep a close relationship with the Lord as He is always there to help and protect you.

I am writing this to share the life of a disabled person, specifically a PFFD, prior to WWII who grew up in the 30s. Life was different and medicine, knowledge and sophisticated equipment were not available as in today’s world. A month after I was born, which would be about February or March of 1931, I was whisked away to a hospital to ascertain the problem related to my right leg - hip. X-rays revealed no head to the femur and no hip socket. There were no known cases to compare. I was told later there was one other a female who died before her 12th birthday.

I believe I may be the oldest PFFD and that most of the original work was done on me at the Children’s Hospital , Boston (Brookline), MA (now known as the Children’s Medical Center) under Dr William T Green who was Chief Orthopedic Surgeon of the Children’s Hospital and full professor in Orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School. His pup and protégé was Dr David Grice.

I was diagnosed (in 1931) as, in those days, a Congenital Absence of the proximal 2/3 of the femur and acetabulum, acute (today known as a PFFD). There was a girl with a similar diagnosis but she died at age 12.