MOVING ON PURPOSE

I am a very sedentary seventy-two year old.  Been this way since childhood.  My Mom would chase us out of the house "to get the stink blown off you" and I would reluctantly go out, climb a tree and read a book.  I just don't like too hot or too cold or too buggy.

My younger sister (by 8 years) is the total opposite.  She gets in a minimum of 20,000 steps every day, usually more.  She and her hubby take active vacations.  Biking, walking tours, SCUBA, kayaking, cross country skiiing and they have a second home in NYC with no car so they walk 40,000 steps while they are there.

But I need to try again.  Twenty-five years ago I found a great walking buddy.  At first, she'd have to go ahead and let me catch up.  We went twice a week for an entire school year after our girls caught the bus.  She was taller than me (I'm 5'7") with a huge stride.  Walking with her was the only change to my life and it really worked!  I looked healthier and my cholesterol went way down.  Others noticed.

She wasn't available the next year due to taking care of aging parents.  I haven't tried VERY hard, but I have yet to entice someone to make a commitment.  Even tried asking several different people thinking I could walk with one once a week and another for my second day.  They were all worse than me finding an excuse to NOT walk.

My next plan, June 1, is to be comfortable exercising on my own.  My sister sent me a link from Instagram about a lady who turned 70 and decided she didn't the couch potato figure or health issues.  She was 5' 3",  200 lbs with a 39 inch waist. Her daughter (fitness person) came to her and asked her to please change her lifestyle so she would not get worse.

Train with Joan.  Instagram.  Facebook.  Website.

She has gone way beyond what I want to do (or could afford) but amazing what she looks like at 75.  (She's now 78)  She started out with stretching, walking and jumping rope.  Changed to healthy eating habits (I'm down 20 lbs from last year just by making my own food when the kidults make "kid food" ... french fries, pizza, chicken nuggets, etc) and using a lunch size plate for meals.

Maybe I will be able to quit blood pressure medicine.  I'm gonna give it a try!

Annual Wellness Exam

This past week I went in for the Medicare Wellness exam.  So many things have been added since I went last year!  Instead of remembering three words, he gave me a name (first and last), street address, city and state.  Asked me 4 times during our visit.  On the last request for regurgitation, I got the first name wrong … but laughed and said I always got those two brothers mixed up.  Have I ever misplaced my keys? Normal. Were they found in an odd place (refrigerator, bathroom?) Not normal.

There were several strength tests besides “how hard can you squeeze my fingers”.  I had to press down hard on his hands, then up on his hands.  Same with my feet.  He now has a fancy stethoscope that sends data to his computer, including an EKG!

Without looking at the clock, I had to guesstimate the time of day.  Repeat the months of the year backwards.  Count down from 20.  How often do I visit the dentist?  Eye doctor?  Next stop, blood tests and bone scan.

The young phlebotomist informed me she was very new and asked for permission to take my blood.  Of course I said yes (she told me almost half of the patients have said no!) and she did the best job ever, no bruise!  Final stop, bone scan.

At the end of the day my results were on my portal and my Doc texted me for a video (7pm).  I now have osteoporosis in my spine and after discussion (my Mom had severe case and so does my younger sister).  I will start with a monthly dose of something in the Fosamax family.  In addition, my potassium levels were high (most people I know have LOW potassium).  I went in the next day to have it tested again and everything is normal.  In fact, all my labs are in the normal range (with the help of chemistry in some cases).

I feel like I take too many medications so we reviewed them all.  He deemed all were necessary, no interactions and no bad side effects.  He suggested a Covid booster and a tetanus shot.

“Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art” 

-Eleanor Roosevelt

Grow Old with Me!

 Hi ~

Bear with me as I relearn how to do this.  Not grow old, but how to run and format a blog.  I did one (Awkward Widow) when my hubby died 11 years ago.  Got the hang of it but after a few years, I ran out of Widow things to say.

Since I hit 65, life with my body has been a roller coaster!  When I went from ONE doctor to so many "ologists" and specialists it was astounding.  I figured some of you might be having the same experiences and with a sense of humor, maybe we will survive!

In 2016 my only child, Kate, asked me to move from Maui back to Portland to enjoy her children while they were little.  We are multigenerational still!  The boys are 13 and 10, the parents 39 and 42.  I just hit 72.  And here we are!