Near the end of the last basketball season, I would awake at night with an intense burning sensation in my right thigh. As time went on, that painful experience would occur during daylight waking hours as well.

Curiously, I never felt any discomfort while officiating games. Only when I was at "rest," either sitting down, lying down, or standing and not moving, did this pain "attack" me.

So, I hurt: what’s the sensible thing to do?

Being a normal middle-aged man, I ignored it. I thought I could "work through" it. I continued to officiate basketball. It was my rookie season, and I didn’t want to "wimp out." Besides, like I said, it didn’t hurt when I was active.

Then, one day while at the doctor’s office for a check-up, I felt the familiar feeling of fire in my right thigh. I mentioned it to Doctor Meyer. He listened intently, then began poking the exterior thigh area between my knee and hip. He noticed my grimace.

Continued...