Aging warnings

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  • leehljp
    Just me
    • Dec 2002
    • 8429
    • Tunica, MS
    • BT3000/3100

    Aging warnings

    I was reminded this morning a health warning I was given about 3 years ago that I so often forget.

    PUT YOUR PANTS ON OVER BOTH LEGS WHILE SITTING DOWN:

    Three years ago, a farmer friend in his mid 80's passed away. He was a healthy active retired farmer, but helped his two sons on the farm, rode his horse at least weekly and still had an active pilot's license. One day he fell and broke his hip. His health never returned and nearly a year later he passed away. I co-officiated in his funeral.

    I have known of several healthy elderly people who died within months to a year after breaking a major bone in their body. My friend said this to me: "I got up in the morning and put my pants on just like I had been doing for 80 years., But, I tripped as I was putting my second leg in. I fell and broke my hip." He died within 8 months of the fall.

    One of his sons (who used to be my neighbor) told me, in his presence, "I told dad, he need to learn to put his pants on over both legs WHILE sitting down or sitting on the edge of the bed. I do that as a habit and I am 30 years younger than him."

    AS A RESULT of that conversation, I started doing that but not always consistently. Every time in which I almost stumble, I remember the conversation and sit down to finish getting my pants on.

    I am 76 and reasonably healthy, strong and reasonable mental health (I still forget a lot). As a result, there are things I can do - in which many my age cannot do. However, I have known several elderly people in the last 3 - 4 years who were healthy until a tripping or a fall and a major bone breaks. There are many things elderly should avoid if possible, but bone breaking is one accident that turns excellent health into a very weak state, and that eventually leads to an earlier death than otherwise would have happened.

    This morning, I was reminded of this when I needed to hurry and get started with slow smoking some meat on the grill. Jumped up, grabbed my pants and almost tripped. Sat down on the edge of the bed and finished.

    Common ordinary things with a minor mistake can lead to major health problems and even death, especially for those who are aging from their '60's.

    Comments?
    Last edited by leehljp; 05-27-2023, 10:51 PM.
    Hank Lee

    Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!
  • LCHIEN
    Internet Fact Checker
    • Dec 2002
    • 20914
    • Katy, TX, USA.
    • BT3000 vintage 1999

    #2
    For the very old, breaking bones in a fall, often the hip, but other bones as well, leads to complications and ultimately their passing within a year. Things are complicated as you age by losing calcium with more brittle bones as a result, so simple falls can result in broken bones and complications much more easily than when young. This is a story I have heard repeated over and over again from people who take care of old people including my mom's gerontologist.
    Loring in Katy, TX USA
    If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
    BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

    Comment

    • Jim Frye
      Veteran Member
      • Dec 2002
      • 1051
      • Maumee, OH, USA.
      • Ryobi BT3000 & BT3100

      #3
      Wow, I was getting dressed this morning to do yard work (installing 250' of lawn edging) and it occurred to me that I didn't used to brace my hand on the vanity top as I pulled my jeans on (over both knee stabilizers). LOML goes in next week for her second total knee replacement surgery (first one done in April) and I'm scheduled next month for an assessment by the orthopedic surgeon for the cartilage degeneration and bone spurs in my right knee. We have made some revisions in our home with floor coverings to minimize trip falls. Another aging sign is that I replaced my wheelbarrow with a four wheel dump cart to avoid stumbling with the loaded wheelbarrow and the dump cart can be hand pulled or towed with my riding lawn mower. I sort of paid the wheelbarrow forward by sitting it at the curb with a "free" sign as that's how I acquired it a couple of years before.
      Last edited by Jim Frye; 05-27-2023, 09:37 PM.
      Jim Frye
      The Nut in the Cellar.
      ”Sawdust Is Man Glitter”

      Comment

      • twistsol
        Veteran Member
        • Dec 2002
        • 2893
        • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
        • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

        #4
        I mentioned this to my son in law who is a Sioux Falls firefighter and he said it is shocking the number of calls he has been on for older people (anyone over 30 from his perspective) that are injured doing simple things they've done all their lives. We lose balance, reaction speed, and flexibility as we age and they creep up on us slowly enough over timethat we don't notice.

        He also pointed out that with my propensity to injure myself in creative ways that I should really be more diligent and think carefully about safer ways to do pretty much do everything I do.
        Chr's
        __________
        An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
        A moral man does it.

        Comment

        • Jim Frye
          Veteran Member
          • Dec 2002
          • 1051
          • Maumee, OH, USA.
          • Ryobi BT3000 & BT3100

          #5
          Another aging sign I'm experiencing is my hand coordination, or maybe it's hand/eye coordination. Things slip out of my hands easily and when I toss something in rarely lands where I intended.
          Jim Frye
          The Nut in the Cellar.
          ”Sawdust Is Man Glitter”

          Comment

          • leehljp
            Just me
            • Dec 2002
            • 8429
            • Tunica, MS
            • BT3000/3100

            #6
            I am concerned about my hands too, at least my right hand and I am primarily right handed. I am used to being very precise with placing or moving things with my right hand, but it now shakes too much if holding something with that hand only, and the bad/good part is I know how to conceal it from my wife. I go back to the neurologist in about 6 weeks, so we will have some more consultations. It started shaking more just after my last visit. I do notice it is more severe in the afternoon/evening when I am tired.
            Hank Lee

            Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

            Comment

            • onedash
              Veteran Member
              • Mar 2005
              • 1013
              • Maryland
              • Craftsman 22124

              #7
              I'm 50 and have got pretty fat since retiring from the Marine Corps. I have to sit down to put my socks on but it's the underwear that's gonna get me probably. I just went to ER a couple times for AFIB and am wearing a heart monitor now and have lost about 12 pounds since. I almost quit soda, and need to stop the bourbon and get walking. I haven't done anything in the shop for a while and have a couple dying pin oaks I have to cut down as soon as I get this monitor of. They adjusted my meds and put me on a blood thinner and I'm feeling pretty good. I got a smart watch and see my O2 drops a LOT when i'm sleeping so trying to get a hold of the VA sleep lab to see whats going on. fun stuff.
              YOU DONT HAVE TO TRAIN TO BE MISERABLE. YOU HAVE TO TRAIN TO ENDURE MISERY.

              Comment

              • Pappy
                The Full Monte
                • Dec 2002
                • 10453
                • San Marcos, TX, USA.
                • BT3000 (x2)

                #8
                At 65, 9 years ago, I lost my colon to ulcerative colitis. Before that I had never had any major health problems. I had a bag for about 6 months until the doctor connected my small intestine to my rectum. During that time I dropped from 155 to 115 and it took a couple of years to gain most of it back. Now, at 74 I have COPD and I found out last week that I have an ulcer that is causing anemia and iron deficiency. Like others my hands shake, but not all the time. When and how bad varies from day to day.

                On the plus side, I still have most if my mental capacity and my reflexes are still good so I am comfortable driving or riding my trike. I can still do most of the things I like or need to do, i just have to do them at a slower pace.

                GETTING OLD AIN'T FOR SISSIES!!!!!!!
                Don, aka Pappy,

                Wise men talk because they have something to say,
                Fools because they have to say something.
                Plato

                Comment

                • cwsmith
                  Veteran Member
                  • Dec 2005
                  • 2737
                  • NY Southern Tier, USA.
                  • BT3100-1

                  #9
                  I'm going to be 79 next month. That is the age that my father passed and last year I lost a cousin at that age.

                  But I don't smoke, never have. Growing up, I remember rarely seeing my Dad without a cigarette. He also worked in the trades, which in itself can be hazardous.

                  I also don't drink, just never much cared for the taste, but that's not to say that in my younger years I would have a drink or two on occasion with family or friends. But as a 'social drinker', I'm sort of a 'cheap date' as we used to joke, two beers and I'm buzzed.

                  I'm fairly active, but not at all athletic in that I don't like sports. I walk, hike, used to cross-country ski years ago, and today I do all my own work (no plumbing or roof work though). We're out and about every day and generally I'm moving around from morning to mid-evening engaging in some kind of activity.

                  I was born with a heart murmer, which kept me from gym class and participating in sports. The school doctor wouldn't let me participate in any of that activity, and believe me when I say it was not a happy time to have to attend gym classes and be ordered to just sit against the wall and watch everyone else. Too often I was the focus of disdain from some of the other guys. (big reason I've never been a sports fan). All the more ridiculous because after school I had a five-mile long paper route, worked for the local farmer, and helped my Dad after supper with his extra jobs. I also hiked, cross-country skied, and spent one weekend a month exercising with my squadron's SAR team.

                  I've been diabetic for at least three decades (type 2) and have kept it under control. I'm just under six foot tall and weigh 177 lbs. My balance is still pretty good, but at the end of my day I'm rather tired. I grew up skinny, weighed only 119 pounds when I got married at 23. I didn't gain weight until the advent of the computer, where my job moved from the drawing board to a desk chair and computer desk. To keep from falling asleep I'd drink too much coffee and eat too many snacks. At age 55, I weighed 204. One afternoon I saw the reflection of myself when coming through the glass entry door to the office, and didn't recognize myself. I stopped the coffe and my snacking immediately! I also bought a bathroom scale and since weigh myself every morning.

                  Six years ago I was diagnosed with Colon cancer and had a colon resection. I suffered from headaches my whole life and popped aspirin three or four times a day. My physician had told me to cut down almost a decade before, but in this case he said it actually saved my life. The asperin had cause stomach bleeding which got picked up in my home test screening kit (you know the one you've seen many times on TV). So that test prompted an MRI. The Doc said if it wasn't for that, the cancer wouldn't have been detected for years and at that point would have been devastating. As it was I spent 13 days in hospital.

                  Likewise, a follow-up MRI detected a growth on my left kidney a little over a year ago. The tumorous fiber was also removed without great turmoil, I kept my kidney and I only spent two days in the hospital. Since then my MRI screenings have been good. But at this age I've got a bum knee, legs always hurt and my feet swell if I'm on them too long, and sleeping is a challenge.

                  Life can be a challenge, but so far so good,

                  CWS
                  Think it Through Before You Do!

                  Comment

                  • capncarl
                    Veteran Member
                    • Jan 2007
                    • 3564
                    • Leesburg Georgia USA
                    • SawStop CTS

                    #10
                    Earlier this year I was getting off my zero turn on my driveway, heading inside for something cool to drink. On a large tall zero turn lawn mower there is not a graceful way to get off, although there is a nice piece of bar grating welded on the deck for a step…. Who uses these things? Long story short, as I was stretching my lanky legs off the front of the mower the left leg of my shorts wen over the left steering handle thingy and I turned a double flip face down on the concrete if front of my garage door. Broke my safety glasses and skint up my face and ear and bruised most of my body. Nothing broke though, nobody saw it so it didn’t happen. Me and Capt. Morgan talked about it and decided it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. Yesterday I pulled the zero turn onto the driveway and did exactly the same thing to get off and caught myself before a did another swan dive on the concrete. I’ve either got to put a guard rail on the front of the mower to keep me from breaking my fool neck or start mowing naked so I won’t snag my pants on the steering handle. I don’t think the neighbors would notice?

                    Comment

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