My BIL plays tennis with a group of folks in their 80s. He’s the youngster in his 70s. He bikes, hikes and takes Pilates plus runs his dental practice. No idea if he ever plans to retire.
We’re a quality of life family. If the quality we want is there we’re fine. When it’s (forever) gone, so will we be gone. It might be 51 or it might be 121. Time will tell.
My grandmother lived to 91 healthy and active, then fell and broke her hip and got put into a horrid nursing home. She asked to die there (several times) and of course they wouldn’t let her. She died at age 94.
MIL is 87, and is now in Hospice with end stage Alzheimers.
Those experiences have seared into my mind that I’m not getting there.
FIL is 90, has extensive heart issues, but is still going super strong - as active as he can be with hunting, fishing, fixing things, etc.
My other grandmother was murdered at age 80 - doing fine.
My mom is dying of cancer at age 75 - still doing as fine as can be.
That’s the group we’re aiming to be like. Something will take us out eventually, but we want to be active until it does with a quick ending when it comes (even if we hasten the actual end).
I agree with those who believe staying active doing what one likes is the key. (Everyone gets to choose what they like.) Stop and one loses it I suspect.
My dad I’ll leave out as he has mental issues - hopefully issues I’ve already avoided genetically.
My mother lives in a home with 22 steps to an upstairs TV room, she is up and down those steps, literally, 20-30 times a day on good days. I got her a fitbit to verify the story and it’s true. She’s been having a really rough spring, recovering from a two month visit to my sister out of state and is quite weak, her doc approved PT, but even the drive is rough on her so I have hired a gal who goes to senior’s homes and does their PT homework with them. It’s been fantastic, the woman is a personal trainer, not medically trained, but she has a gift for working with seniors, understanding the biomechanics, adjusting to the varying abilities, which change day to day.
If a senior wants to stay in their own home it is of paramount importance to be as strong as possible and as far as I am concerned, this woman can come exercise my mother for the rest of her life! It’s been a real blessing. It’s also been helpful for me to have someone who knows & understands these things to have her impartial eyes on the health situation as it waxes and wanes.
Re: #22
Wouldn’t the stairs automatically provide her some exercise opportunity?
Exactly, according to the exercise person, having done those stairs all these years was a Godsend, it has kept so much strength in her large leg muscles. The other good thing is that she uses a recliner and pushes back to recline and then pulls to sit up constantly, she’s very restless, and that, in fact, is a great arm strengthener. Her daily life has been set up to maximize her strength, unknowingly and with great success. And yet, she still needs some extra help with a more comprehensive exercise regimen, working toward improving balance as she gets dizzy.
^I know the common wisdom is to move to one floor living when you’re older, but I’m determined to stay in a two-story house as long as possible, just to make me go up and down the stairs every day.
Sounds great until you fall and break bones. Even a minor fall can cause a lot of problems at a later age.
@Creekland murdered? I can’t imagine. I am so sorry
^^Well, I said as long as possible. I won’t be stupid.
“Leg exercise is critical to brain and nervous system health”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180523080214.htm
My former parents-in-law are both 92. MIL has had obvious Alzheimer’s disease for at least 10 years but could live a while longer; her mom lived until age 102 with Alzheimer’s. FIL is in terrible health: heart disease, kidney problems, diabetes, and arthritis. He is obese. He is a long-term survivor of bladder cancer but has had an ostomy since removal of his bladder more than 15 years ago.
My mom will be 90 in August. She still has a paid job for 10 hours per week. Her memory is declining a bit but she is much sharper than my former in-laws. She has a lot of pain in one knee and walks extremely slowly. She should not be going up and down stairs because of the risk of falls. She lives alone.
@veruca Yes, murdered with the culprit never caught/punished due to lack of evidence. They were stealing things from her house after she let them live with her for a short time while they were in desperate times. (With lack of evidence, that’s our best guess. It “could” have been a normal robbery, but very unlikely TBH.) Her body wasn’t found until a few days later (sigh) and the folks staying with her weren’t seen again. She didn’t share names with her sons when alive - no clue why, so tracking them would have been difficult and the police didn’t seem to have the dedication those on TV do.
I hope for Karma. I also hope she died quickly. It was three weeks after my oldest was born. She got to see pictures, but not him. She was still managing her church’s thrift shop when she was killed - at age 80. She loved it, but we all suspect that’s how she “found” her killers. She lived alone and liked helping people. (Grandpa died at age 61 or 65 from a heart attack - I was still in high school, so don’t remember exactly how old he was. He had literally just retired within the year.)
Heartbreaking
^^^ I agree. I still hope for Karma. That’s not a way anyone should have to pass on.
Another hearty recommendation for the book “Being Mortal”. I learned so much, and it got me thinking and thinking.
It’s great on audio!
I wouldn’t want to live to be 80, 90, or 100 if it was a sick existence.
I ride my bike a lot because it’s the exercise I most enjoy. I take 1/2 tablet of an already very low dose of bp medicine, but nothing else. I hope to stay active as long as possible and not linger for years in a wheelchair or on 30 medicines or in a sad, unwell state.
Well…just a warning. Bike riding isn’t weight bearing. Therefore, it doesn’t prevent the development of osteoporosis. So, you might still end up in a wheelchair.
Many things can lead to ending up in a wheelchair. I think it’s good to do any kind of physical activity that you enjoy.
I think it can depend on how you do the exercise. If you stand on the pedals, that surely seems weight bearing. Rowing, therabands, yoga and other exercise can all be weight bearing, depending on how it’s done.
It’s high quality resistance training, so my odds are good. If I keep it up and my knees don’t give out, that is.
I also do the treadmill when I do my weight routines (twice a week).
Totally forgot about my nursing career. 8 hours a day on my feet surely qualifies as weight bearing, doesn’t it? Lol.