Life's Difficult Choices - New Television or Walk Normally?

As a previous post indicated, I broke my foot nearly a month ago. To be precise, I suffered a Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal on my left foot. That means that one of the bones in the front part of my left foot connecting to my small toe broke. Supposedly this bone is in an area of the foot that gets limited blood flow, resulting in a slow and ineffective healing process. This all culminates in two options. I can either go without a surgical procedure, take 20 weeks, and let the bone heal on its own (which has a very high incidence of re-fracture), or I can go ahead and opt for surgery, which has an 8 week healing period and a much lower potential for re-fracture. A no-brainer, I know.

However, I have no idea how expensive surgery will be. It may cost me $500, or it may cost me $5,000. I can't really afford to pay $5,000. But then I have to ask myself, would I go $5,000 into debt to be able to walk normally for the rest of my life and continue playing soccer until my body as a whole gives out? Of course I would.

And the dilemma is born. As the proud new owner of a PlayStation 3 (his name is El Chino), I now have a gaming system capable of supporting 1080p resolution. That means that the games are broadcast in HD. So if I had an HD television, I could play my games on an HD television and they would look "Freakin' Awwwwwesome!" as Peter Griffin would say. The PlayStation 3 is a Sony product. No surprise then, that the Sony Corporation has designed the PlayStation 3 to work best with Sony HD televisions. Much like the old Mitsubishi television my parents used to own that had a remote with these words on it: "Works best with Mitsubishi batteries." Really? Aren't batteries a fungible commodity? Some are, actually, better than others, I'm sure. But does the remote actually work better with Mitsubishi batteries? Count me among the skeptics.

Now the HD television and the PlayStation 3 are investments in my sanity. As my broken foot has limited my mobility, I've spent a large amount of time this Summer sitting on my fat ass. Thank God for my wonderful couch. I've been playing a lot of video games and watching a lot of movies. An HD television would further enhance my viewing experience, and allow me to derive maximum enjoyment from my 8-20 weeks of recuperation. And it would keep on giving long after my foot was healed. Sony recently slashed the price of their 40 inch LCD HDTV by 20%, and retailers have slashed it to a reasonable $1,700. Not exactly money I have, but money I can come up with. I know a guy. I am willing to make that investment.

But what about my foot? If faced with the option of spending $1,700 on an HDTV or spending $1,700 to walk normally and be able to play soccer again, you'd think the answer would be clear. But not entirely so. A television is an investment in the future. It will provide thousands of hours of viewing pleasure over the next five to ten years. If I spend $1,700 on surgery, and it doesn't work, what am I really left with? So I have to play the odds. It's sort of like having life insurance. Each day, you make a bet with the insurance company that you'll die. "Bet you I die today," you say. The insurance company replies, "Bet you don't," and on and on it goes.

What should I do? Buy an HDTV, the gift that keeps on giving? Or buy a functioning foot, allowing me to resume my normal activities without fear that my foot will once again crack under the pressure? Tough decision ahead...