Putting things in perspective

A day ago, while simply getting off my chair, I twisted my knee. Now, not that I'm comparing, but I've had a similar condition to Tiger Woods for some time now. Torn ACL, shredded meniscus = dubious stability, and handicap (pardon the pun) to my golf game. But unlike Numero Uno, I've stayed away from the knife, banking on muscular rehabilitation and support, and understanding (and, sigh, accepting) what I can do and what I can't.

But that's about to end. Not the understanding bit, but the part about going under the knife. I've decided to get a partial meniscetomy. No, it will not reduce my manhood in any way, but will entail shaving off part of my damaged meniscus, smoothening it out so that it doesn't cause my knee to lock anymore.

Why do I put you through this boring account of my physiological demise? Because I read something in the news today that puts everything into perspective.

Resigning myself to my getting on in years, and needing to get surgery, I must confess, put me into a dubious mood regarding my recuperation. But after hearing that Amy Mickelson, Phil's wife, is now suffering from cancer, and needing to go through major surgery soon, it pretty much relegates my ailment to an ant bite.

Of course, Phil is hardly the first golf pro to have his wife suffer this dreaded disease. In February, Fred Couples' wife (though estranged) died of breast cancer. And on a different, but no less significant, note, Ernie Els' psyche has been rendered more complex with the discovery of his son's autism. Needless to say, that golf is not the only thing in their lives now.

Singaporeans, especially those who attended the Barclays Singapore Open last year, would have had a chance to bump into Amy Mickelson. Though I have not really met her in real life, anyone in the golf media would have seen her, probably with one or three of her kids, waiting to greet Phil after one of his 36 PGA and 3 Major wins. I was there in 2004, at Augusta, when she brought her youngest to Phil when he won the Masters.

As a professional golfer, all your life you're focused on reaching your goals - be it winning one tournament, ten, or 18 Majors. But there is more to life than getting the ball into the hole in as few strokes as possible. Sadly, some of them find out the hard way.

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