The Game Changer

 

by Pa Rock

Decrepit Typist

Being old, I have many aches and pains and medical conditions to occupy my time and conversation.  Of late, the top of that list has been "balance issues."  I have had two falls over the past five years that have each resulted in a broken arm, and four or five other falls that should have had serious consequences but instead just resulted in pain, discomfort, and an increased fear of falling.  Aging has also made my bones more brittle and my joints more resistant to movement.  When I sit for several minutes and then stand, I sound like an adolescent kid banging on his first drum set!

I had a hard fall on the driveway a couple of weeks ago which should have broken some bones but fortunately did not.  I used Ibuprofen to stave off the first round of pain, but after that just let nature run its course.  A week after the fall I was barely able to walk, but kept hobbling on because, being retired or not, there are still things that need to get done.

My Dad was stubborn and pig-headed, too.  Sixteen years ago he was an eighty-five year old landlord out delivering Christmas gifts to his renters on Christmas Eve when he slipped on a frost-covered porch, took a hard hit to the head, and still managed to drive himself home and function for the rest of the day.  Dad was in Missouri, and I called him that evening from my home in Arizona like I did late every afternoon.  He told me about the fall, said he was alright, but going to bed early.  He called an ambulance later that night and died in the hospital before daylight on Christmas morning - from old age and the effects of a fall.

I have not done the research, but nevertheless I would venture to guess that we generally tend to reflect our parents lives in our own, and that we can expect to live roughly the same length of time as they did, though maybe a little longer due to improvements in medicines and medical care, and that we are likely to expire from the same causes as our parents.

Hence my concern with fallling - that and the fact that balance is becoming more and more of an issue.  

The outlook has been gloomy - but today things seem brighter, and it is because of the new mattress that I mentioned in this blog yesterday.     I had ordered new mattersses for my son and I prior to Thanksgiving, and they both arrived yesterday.  Last night I slept better than I had in a very long time, and I awoke ready to be active and get things done.   Most of my aches and pains were gone and I even felt more secure in my balance.  Nick said his sleep had been better as well.

Today the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I have twice the mobility that I had yesterday.

If life is giving you signals that the race is about over, consider getting a new mattress.  It might be a game changer!