Will Prince Sport A Wheelchair To His Next Tours Dates?

Nevermind that 80's pop icon Prince is all of 5'3" tall, and that he has been touring more than we've seen Michael Jackson toured or even been seen in the last 10 years, or the fact that he's in so much pain from his hip bothering him that his faith and belief in his religion has him scurrying the in the opposite direction of keeping him from remaining an upwardly mobile human being like the rest of us.

Prince was on the prowl again last night, making an unscheduled appearance at the Apollo Theater’s 75th anniversary celebration to toast Patti LaBelle. But most people weren't talking about him being there... they were talking about the limp that he was seen walking with when he thought folks didn't notice. It's being reported that his hip troubles have gotten so bad that he's now in need of a double hip replacement.

Unfortunately, thanks to his practice as a Jehovah’s Witness, Prince still refuses surgery. Why you ask? Simple: Jehovah's Witness' don’t believe in blood transfusions. “He’s in a lot of pain,” said a source who was backstage with him last night at the Apollo. “He’s popping pain killers and hoping it will all go away.”

But it won’t. Back in 2005 reports surfaced that Prince needed one hip replaced. He declined. Then again in 2007 and 2008 came more reports that he’d finally agreed to “secret surgery.” Now the diminutive R&B star is walking with a diamond-studded stick to keep him upright. It’s the same stick I saw him with two nights ago at a post-Tony Awards bash. I’m sure he’d rather have a Raspberry beret or a little red Corvette, but for now Prince is stuck with the stick.

The question is: if it gets worse, will he go to a wheelchair?