Extra Time Dr. Juan Harrison
Extra Time
As us older folks find ourselves slippin and sliden into senior sainthood, we find the list of what we can’t do getting longer and the can-do list getting shorter. This is where the rubber meets the road. Old Miss Independent and Mr. Muscles begin feeling a growing frustration over all the limitations we begin to find being placed on our poorer motor skills. I’m thinking if my wife were to marry again (which she says, “Been there, done that”) she would like her new spouse to live next door and mainly be available to open jars and assorted lids for her. Occasionally I’ll smile at her as I unscrew a lid for her and whisper, ”You’re gonna miss me.” Ain’t it funny how young love with the hugging and kissing morphs into “would you open this for me” or “would you give me a foot massage.”
For the most part senior life is tolerable with few deadlines, zero emails, and the freedom to sleep a tad later if your partner agrees. Sometimes the simplest chore can be a game breaker. For me and a number of my friends it’s called bending over or squatting down. As any wise senior has learned, don’t go doing any of that bending down or picking up stuff without having something handy to lean on. You can include putting on anything that you have to put your feet through with 2 leg holes. I heard one pants leg whisper to me the other day to go ahead and stick that leg in there. Pretty quickly I realized I should have been leaning up against the cabinet to steady myself. I thought I heard old broken hip snickering around the corner. It doesn’t pay to get too cocky. Losing your balance is a constant threat.
Getting down is fairly easy. Getting up, not so much. I’ve mentioned to you that for broken hip victims, a national study says life expectancy is under a year. Seems like too much lying down and sitting can lead to issues with breathing and hearts due to inactivity. I try to remember to have a broom handle or stick to grab onto or push on when I decide to get up off the floor or the grass. If you’re not able to steady yourself, you’re likely to shoot off sideways like a Roman candle as you lose your balance.
Like marriage, navigating the physical woes of seniorhood takes a bit of trial and error and monitor and adjust as we used to say in the military. It seems the problem is as much mental as physical. I’ve watched vigorous elderly men struggle with their growing physical limitations. They often refuse or ignore the cane or walker, often to their regret. My old friend Finis made it to 97. He told me to “gum em when you can’t bite em.” The song says, “You’ve got to walk that lonesome valley; you got to walk it by yourself.” That’s not totally true, but it is true if you live long enough, you’ll have to fight that old battle. Count yourself blessed for the extra time you’ve been given.
By Dr. Juan Harrison
