Let me make a wild guess, Ms. Boeck: Osteoarthritis does not run in your family. Some people aren’t that lucky. My aunt, a nurse, needed a hip and both knees replaced, not because of an “unhealthy lifestyle” but because of conditions that plagued her since childhood.

I’ll make another stab in the dark: You’ve never worked a job that put repeated stress on your joints. My uncle did. He made a living for his family by laying carpet (You see, he extended his duty in World War II, and when he came home all the commercial pilot jobs were already spoken for.) and eventually he needed a new knee.

Maybe you’ve seen my mother walking all around town over the years? She doesn’t drive. She walks. She walked us to school, to parades and band concerts, to doctor appointments and more, and yet you would say she leads an “unhealthy lifestyle” simply because of the pain a few years ago that put a halt to her walking. It was a paralyzing pain from her back down to her toes. Believe me, she tried everything. She said, “I am NOT getting a new knee!” That was the last resort, and you know what? That did the trick. Now she’s out walking again.

We don’t all get to stay young and supple and healthy forever, no matter how hard we try. Before you cast aspersions and begrudge her or any of these people any sort of relief or recovery, perhaps you should feel their pain — or be grateful that you don’t!