For those who see Lebanon County Commission chairman Mike Kuhn out in public, it may appear that he walks with a swagger.
For those who know Kuhn, it’s not exactly a swagger but a limp caused by a bad right hip.
While the swagger may stay in the future, it’s hoped the limp goes away when he undergoes right hip surgery the week of Feb. 17 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon city.
“It may cause me to miss the commissioners meeting scheduled for that Thursday,” said Kuhn during an exclusive interview with LebTown. “I plan to make a public announcement this Thursday (today) at the commissioners meeting. I anticipate that I may miss that first meeting physically, but I plan to participate by Zoom or by phone.”
Kuhn, who replaced Commissioner Robert Phillips as chairman when they reorganized in January, said he’s already asked his fellow Republican colleague to chair the Feb. 20 meeting.
Lebanon County Commissioners hold public meetings the first and third Thursdays of each month at 9:30 a.m. in Room 207 of the Lebanon County Municipal building at 8th and Poplar streets, Lebanon.
“I had asked Mr. Phillips to run the meeting in my absence if I am not there,” said Kuhn. “There’s a possibility that I might be there, but I am not counting on it at this point.”
Kuhn said he had his left hip replaced about 15 years ago and his doctor told him then that he’d need the right hip fixed in the future. For Kuhn, that future is now.
“I led a very active lifestyle, playing basketball until I was over 50 and, you know, it was time,” said Kuhn. “The left one was worse, but the surgeon who did my surgery then said the left one, as bad as any he had ever seen, bone on bone, also said your right one is not too far behind. But at least I got another 15 years out of that one.”
While some people Kuhn knows have lamented that he’ll have to undergo surgery, he said he’s ready. “It’s time. It’s been bothering me a lot.”
Kuhn said he’s ready because the left hip still feels great 15 years later.
LebTown asked Kuhn if his pending surgery was going to replace his John Wayne swagger, to which he laughed and exclaimed, “Maybe I don’t want to lose that! If it makes you look like John Wayne, I may not want to lose it because I always thought John Wayne was a pretty cool guy.”
He added that people he sees on a regular basis have commented on his limp and have expressed their concerns for him and asked whether he’s physically okay.
“I tell them it’s my hip,” said Kuhn about his answer to their queries. “I’m actually looking forward to it. While it’s no fun to have surgery and rehab, the result is well worth it.”
Kuhn told LebTown his right hip pain is minimal most days but added it does interfere with participating in hobbies and doing everyday chores around the house.
“On a scale of 1 to 10, I rarely have pain that’s above a 2, 3, or a 4,” said Kuhn. “It’s a relatively mild pain, but it limits me physically from the things I like to do. To do simple chores like cutting the grass, it hurts a lot after that. I pay a price. I can do a lot of things, but last summer I didn’t play golf at all because I didn’t want to be on it that much. And the longer I wait, the worse that it is. It makes me avoid physical activity.”
Kuhn believes his time away from his county duties will be minimal.
“One,” replied Kuhn when LebTown asked how many days he’ll be out of commission as a commissioner. “The surgeon said I’ll be going home within 24 hours and I really don’t have any specific physical limitations that he’s going to place on me.”
Kuhn said the reason he’ll most likely miss that one meeting in person is because the first few days a hip patient is more sedentary and sitting in a prone position is preferred over being upright.
As far as the surgery, Kuhn said it will take 1.5 hours. The recovery plan is to start physical therapy on the new hip as soon as possible.
LebTown asked Lebanon County solicitor Matt Bugli what the implications are in the unlikely event that the other two commissioners would have to make an emergency decision while Kuhn is sedated.
Bugli said Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Law, which ensures public meetings are conducted openly, said there’s a narrow exception to the law that allows business to be conducted when there’s a “real or potential emergency with a clear and present danger to life or property.”
Concerning the release of funding in an emergency scenario, Bugli added that declaration would likely come from the governor or the president.
“Obviously, a quorum would still exist with Commissioner Litz and Commissioner Phillips, and if there is an agreement, then there would be a 2 to 0 vote,” said Bugli. “If it was a split vote of 1-1, the motion would fail and they’d have to discuss it further.”
Bugli added that if the surgery were to occur on Thursday, Feb. 20, commissioners could still conduct county business since they would have a quorum, meaning a majority in attendance. Any votes that might be 1-1 would lead to those agenda items being tabled for that meeting.
“There’s nothing preventing a tabled item from being considered at a future meeting,” he added.
Kuhn noted that he plans to be back on the job ASAP, adding he took a call while still in the recovery room during another surgery.
As far as this surgery goes, he said there’s two options for anesthesia, one to be fully sedated and another that numbs the patient from the waist down while allowing them to remain awake.
LebTown asked Kuhn if he was planning to request option C like his hero John Wayne and ask for a bullet to bite on and a bottle of whiskey to help deaden the pain while telling the surgeon to bring it on.
That elicited a laugh from Kuhn, who added, “That’s right! I should. But again, nobody wants to have surgery. But everyone who tells me that’s too bad, I tell them that, ‘no, I’m looking forward to it.’”
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