Last year when my Godson was born I mentioned my friend Amy. It is the same Amy that was my Maid of Honor, and from my past. She is now like family, and I worry about her so much.

When Amy was a very young child she had a bone disease that was mistreated. By mistreating I am saying they put her in a full body cast, and left it till it caused severe damage to her hips. She has had several surgeries all before the age of 16, and was told that eventually she would have to have her hips replaced.

When she had Dylan, she had been suffering in pain for about two months without really telling anyone, because she was afraid. After he was born she could not get out of the hospital bed without help, not because of the C-Section, but because her hip joint had deteriorated so much it was painful to walk or stand.

They told her that it would have to be replaced in a few years, 2 at the most. That was back in November. Today she called while she was on her way to another Dr. appt. to tell me that when she went in this morning for another cortisone shot that when they checked her, they said there was nothing more that the shots could do. They have to replace the hip as soon as possible, because for some reason it has accelerated in deterioration. Believe me, this is not something she needed right now at this moment on this particular day.

She is on her way to a specialist, because it has to be done soon. Soon as in next month, or she may not be able to walk again without help. She is 30. She wants another child. She is a teacher and a very active mother and wife. Within 5 years the other hip has to be replaced also.

I feel so very bad for her. I know that she is struggling right now with some other issues going on, and the fact that she very much wanted another baby. They told her today that while they can use a hip/joint that won't harm the baby, the metal ones do, the added weight will put to much strain on her other hip and accelerate that one.

Amy is now like my sister. Before, she was a little something more. She was my first. I was hers. We have always been friends, even when we were out of touch for a few years. Now she is family, and her son is my Godson. She really doesn't deserve to be going through this.

I wish I could use words to describe her and the person that she is. Remarkable comes to mind, but it doesn't finish the job. Beautiful is there too, but that is not enough. She is strong and resilient. Stubborn and determined. A fighter who will cry when something moves her. She is funny and exhilarant.

Hearing the heartache in her voice over the decision that is being made for her, because of a Dr.s mistake when she was little, is painstaking.