Ken Green Is Enduring Unimaginable Pain To Write Golf's Great Comeback Story

Fifteen minutes. Ken Green's fifteen minutes came in 1997, at the Masters, when he arranged a little prank that made him famous. He was a decent pro golfer who won two Ryder Cup matches in 1989, and he wanted to have a beer with Arnold Palmer. So when he found himself paired with the King at Augusta, Green asked a buddy to slip him a beer on the 15th Hole. The crowd loved it. The media loved it. Ken loved it. Golf needed a guy like that – a regular guy with a little bit of attitude. Golf still needs a guy like that. But Ken probably can't be that guy -- not anymore.

Fifteen minutes. Everything changed for Green in fifteen minutes. On a Monday after a Champions Tour final round in Texas, almost two years ago exactly, Green's RV headed north for a tournament in upstate New York. As it coasted through Mississippi, the RV careened off the road, down an embankment, and straight into a tree. No one inside was wearing a seat belt. Ambulances arrived at the scene – a mess of wood, brush and shrapnel. Green had hurt his right leg so badly that he would need it amputated. His brother, Billy, was dead. Green's girlfriend, Jeanne Hodgin, was also killed. So was Ken's dog, Nip.

Those fifteen minutes have been chasing Ken Green ever since.

Fifteen minutes. That's what Ken Green talks about now. He imagines fifteen minutes free of pain. Not the emotional kind, though there’s that too. Green wonders what it would be like to have fifteen minutes of his life when he’s not in writhing, paralyzing, physical pain. He'd use those fifteen minutes to sleep, or to play with his dogs, or maybe even have a beer. He's got a few in the fridge, but he can’t drink even one, because he says they make the pain worse.

"I can't tell you how many times," he says, sitting at his cluttered dining room table, "if there was a pistol in my bedroom, I would have used it."

Ken Green could get a reprieve from some of this anguish. His plight is not totally out of his hands. But he wants something more than fifteen minutes without pain. He wants fifteen more minutes of tournament golf.

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He lives in a world of gates and mansions. West Palm Beach. The Gold Coast. But Ken Green has a modest, low-slung house on a quiet side street. The only gate out front is a fence keeping his three dogs from roaming too far. It's Saturday night, but Green has no plans. He's got four red velvet cupcakes on the counter, but he has no appetite. He says he hardly eats anything these days.

scruff macduff: Dog Leg Pain

Symptoms of Dog Leg Pain If your dog is limping, it’s a sure bet that he’s having dog leg pain or foot pain. But there are other signs as well. He may not be as active as usual. He may be reluctant to play, to climb stairs, or to jump on or off furniture. He may lick the sore leg a lot - maybe so much that he is losing hair in the spot that hurts. Also, if you touch the spot, he say cry out, or he may snap at you.Obviously, if your dog shows signs of leg pain, you should take him to the vet. Diagnosing Dog Leg Pain Dog leg pain can be caused by a lot of different things. It can be caused by injury to the leg, arthritis, hip dysplasia, and a host of other things.If you take your dog to the vet for leg pain, your vet will give him a thorough physical exam. This will involve moving the sore leg (your dog won’t like this part, and may have to be muzzled if he’s likely to snap at the vet) and watching how your dog walks. Your vet will be interested to see if your dog has pain in just one leg or in more than one leg, such as both back legs (which might indicate dip dysplasia) or in all legs (which might indicate arthritis). Your vet may take some x-rays as well. Treating Dog Leg Pain Obviously the treatment for dog leg pain will depend on the cause. For instance, hip dysplasia may require surgery. If your dog has broken his leg due to trauma, the leg must be set, and surgery might be required as well.But regardless of the cause, the pain itself must be treated. There are a number of dog pain medications available to treat pain in dogs, and the most commonly prescribed are called NSAIDS, which is an abbreviation for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These include over-the-counter medications such as aspirin and a number of prescription drugs.

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