Please HELP!! This kiter needs us!!

[Ted B]

Hey people ,
I have a local Kiter here that really needs our help.. Walt has been kiting for 10 years and is responsible for starting the VAKB ( Va. kiteboarding association )7 years ago. A huge advocate for Kite safety and is mainly responsible for Va. Beach having no restrictions on kiting Other then the ones that he and every other kiter in Va. Beach have voted on. On his days off he would patrol the beaches looking for inexperienced kiters and not hagle them but spend his time basically giving them free lessons and making sure that they where acting safely. Many times I hear a person saying they could not afford a lesson and he would teach them for free. This guy is the true meaning of a kiter that lives and breaths kitesurfing..One Love!!
He needs to raise such a small amount of money ( I think about 5000.00US)if every person here would just donate him 1 dollar to his pay pal fund he could get the surgery that he needs and maybe one day soon be back on the water. Flysurfer USA will start the Fund out with a $400.00 donation. send him $1,$5,$10,$20.00 or more please lets help him get back to his normal life. He is a great person and really deserves our help.. His complete story is below.. I promise you by my Name TED BAUTISTA this is 100% true and in no way is a scam.. he really needs our help!!!
HIS PAY PAL ADDRESS is waltstafari@yahoo.com Please help out a fellow kiter!! Read his story below..
Sincerely Ted B



Ted , thanks in advance for thinking of me, it really means alot.
I have always had trouble with my hips. I broke & dislocated my left hip at age 13. That means I have had only about 11 years of my life with good working legs. I had surgery back then on my left hip, with traction, 4 stainless steel pins and a body cast from my ankle covering my left leg up to my navel for 6 weeks. Following the healing of my left leg, my right hip gave out at age 15, trying to do the weight bearing for both hips. This included another surgery, with the traction and pins again on my right hip, but no body cast this time. Just crutches for most of my adolescent years. I managed to heal, but with a limp. I never let this stop me trying to live a normal life.
20 years of living skateboarding, biking, running, walking, snowboarding and surfing later, my hips began to ache again. The thought of having to go thru all the doctor visits, hospitals and surgeries again as an adult now, made me sick to think of it. So I didn't, i went on trying to live a functional life as possible. In 2006, my hip became so bad it began to affect everyday things, working, walking and providing for myself. I would work jobs only long enough to pat rent for a month at a time, then i would quit, only to take a rest and be off of my feet. In 2007 I went from being an average athelete, kiting a few times a week, to being handicapped and barely able to walk more than a city block. I then realized i could not fix this on my own. I researched everything i could to find an alternative to surgery, i tried more exercises, yoga, looked into Prolotherapy, none of these treatments would take away my pain. So my hips basically, cost me my job, which lead to lossing my home and moving back to PA to rely on family for help and support. They are great, we are not the wealthiest family, but they have been generous in thier love and concern.
In Pennsylvania, I have seen three Orthopedic specialists, showed them my Xrays and told my story. All three were hesistant in treating me because of my young age. They wanted to perform a THR Total Hip Replacement, this means they want to cut off about 4 inches of my femor head, then hollow out the femor bone itself and stick an implant into it. The problem here is that a THR only last 12-15 years. All three Orthopedic surgeons talked about my "second" surgery or the" revision surgery", before i ever received the first one! Meaning they would go back into my thigh, remove the old implant, cleanse out the femor neck, drill it deeper than the first time, and stick and even longer implant into me, and wish me luck for another 10-12 years.
I am only 44 years old, too young for this procedure. I WILL outgrown the implant and need a revision operation within a decade or so.
Finding this unacceptable, i researched "Hip Resurfacing" a procedure that leave the femoral bone intact, and only "resurfaces" the osteo-arthritis off of the bone, Preserving the majority of my femor head, which is critical in case a THR is needed later in life. The resurfaced femor is fitted with a Titanium Ball, which swivels about in a Titanium Cup. Allowing greater (ROM) Range of Motion, bone growth, and more natural stance and gait (walking).
I have found a doctor who has seen my Xrays, and feels very confident that he could perform a successful HR hip resurfacing procedure. This is Dr. Vijay Bose from Apollo Hospital in Chennai, India. I have been exchanging correspondence with this doctor since March 2008. He is one of the world best orthopedic surgeons and a thoughtful and caring humanitarian. I have explained to this doctor that I have no insurance, but I need help because i didn't feel that a THR was right for my age, he agreed. He also agreed to do my surgery without his usual charges, as long as I could cover the hospital fees, airfare, & his assistants costs. This brought my medical dream goal down from $42k to about $9k.
There are qualified doctors here in the USA, i have contacted them. Most of them only accept the major Insurance providers coverage, which i do not have. Their out of pocket costs average between about $28K to $65k.
I'm convinced that outsourcing myself to India for treatment is the best alternative that I currently have. The savings are obvious. Raising funds has been the challenging part. I am unable to work, sitting or standing for any period of time becomes excruiatingly painful. I try to remain positive in all this, if I didn't I don't know what my mental state would be. I sell anything i can get my hands on thru Ebay, I've sold everything from my clothes, my kites/toys, my car and my blood to raise money. Things are slowing down as my inventory declines. But managed to raise about half of my needed medical expenses. I know I will accomplish this, but time is my biggest issue.
As i reach out for help, i have planted in the back of my mind, ways to give back. I plan on helping others going thru this same ordeal; i wouldn't wish these research assignments on anyone. There is alot to learn when looking out for your own health, and that is what is has come down to, finding out what is the best way to treat oneself (on a budget). I plan on opening myself and offering my experience on this subject. I was fortunate enough to come accross a similar group of folks that were very helpful to me, so i will pay this forward.

This is my story, my goal, my journey & my quest, to get better, to have a life back.

Thanks for reading.
walt goldsmith
p/p acct. = waltstafari@yahoo.com
757 470 0479