By: Ellyn Mantell
My husband, Bruce, and I were with a group at dinner recently and began to catch up with some friends we hadn’t seen in quite a while. We were startled to discover that so many had health scares and issues, and we reflected upon the days when our conversations were about our children, work, recreation and travel. And although our generation is still traveling, the question was “what type of travel coverage did you get? Does it include being air lifted to the states? Oy!
It seems that at the age of this group, in our 70’s and some in their 80’s, it is all about what part of us isn’t working, needed surgery, or the like…in short, the “Organ Recital!” By the end of the night, I felt as if we were playing the Anatomy Game, but the difference is that instead of the organs we identified having, the question was how many can we live without?
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We do, however, live in amazing times, medically speaking, and that is what offers us the ability to laugh about our Organ Recital. Going around the table of elder statesmen offers an opportunity to discuss just how far we have come, and how many beliefs of the past are no longer true. Interventionalists (okay, who even imagined such a physician would exist?) can go through the wrist to get to the heart, when it wasn’t that long ago that they had to crack ribs to deal with heart disease. Surgeries of all types have much improved our recovery since new preparations and techniques are used. Endoscopy, colonoscopy, mammography, etc. are part of the everyday verbiage, as is the concept of removing only the sick and saving the healthy tissue. It also seems that each and every year, there is a new prophylactic option for preventing diseases that have the potential to mortally harm seniors, including as many immunizations as we had as infants.
Having recently begun wearing hearing aids, I am mindful of the strides made in saving our treasured senses! Glasses are gorgeous, a fashion statement, and the newer lenses allow seamless transition from focus to focus. Cataract surgery, which used to be performed late in life is done much earlier, providing better vision, particularly at night. Hearing aids are so small and delicate that they defy notice. The newer technology allows us to have better acuity, keeping us in the conversation, enhancing our sociability.
Our teeth are better maintained so we can chew and taste longer in life, and having our dentition intact keeps our oral and facial musculature healthy and strong. We even look healthier and younger when our teeth do their job. There is no excuse for rotted teeth with the skilled hands of today’s dental community.
An entire industry has developed around keeping us moving, including keeping our bones strong and healthy. Gyms, workout equipment, classes and the like are meant to get us off the couch and on the yoga mat, bike, treadmill, and weight-training. We are taking calcium supplements, bone-building medications and measuring our bone-density as never before. Inside we are aging, but outside, we have muscles, and we are proud of them!
As sobering as it was to see friends age before our eyes, we are eternally grateful for all that is done for them and for us. The baby-boomers are not accepting anything less than aging well…not gracefully! We are making our demands known. Create a way for us to maintain our youthful vigor, and we are there. Create a way for us to keep our minds sharp, and we will sign the contract. Create a way to keep us relevant, and we will do it. All of this isn’t too much to ask, is it?