A great little insight:
LIVING ON WHAT I LEARNED AFTER 65
Mary Lou Fuller
LIFE IS A SERIES OF BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS. In the blink of an eye we go from the terrible two’s to Medicare. A friend in her 80’s spoke about looking back on her life. She summed it up with this advice: “One must wait until evening to appreciate the splendor of one’s day”. As I reflected on how my 75-year old “day” had been and re-visited some of my beginnings and endings, I began to listen to that crone within: the keeper of my wisdom. I felt a need to share some thoughts and feelings that have become part of living on what I’ve learned after 65.
I was born in the 1920’s. My childhood commenced with the stock market crash and ended with the close of World War II. My two marriages began and ended, one way or another. Children were raised and suddenly the nest was empty. Careers came and went. At each starting and stopping place I added to my frame of reference. I was launched into menopause at the age of 44. The unhappy process hung around for ten years. Estrogen was a help with hot flashes, those sickening rushes of heat that feel like a pilot light ignited deep in the core of your body. With my metabolism in chaos, just looking at food packed on weight. The doctor intoned, “You can only eat 25% of what you ate before.” It was a death sentence.
As if that wasn’t cruel enough, along came osteoporosis and spinal compacting. My height dropped from 5’11″ to 5’8″. Recommended weight kept pace accordingly. The race between shrinking height and weight charts began and has yet to end.
I fell for the first time in my 60’s. My ankle fractured when I failed to hold onto a stair railing. Recent wooziness made another grab for me as I stepped over the side of the tub to shower. I teetered on the grounded leg and had to grab for the shower curtain to right myself. I haven’t used the tub shower since and relegated my body washing to the stall shower in the guest bathroom.
Today the term “swing time” is used to define the period one’s foot spends off the ground when walking. Studies show old people develop short swing times if they don’t walk regularly. Even some 60-year olds shuffle just to keep their balance. Swing time meant something entirely different in my day.
I am conscious now of doing things more deliberately and I have learned to take my time. I gave myself a gym membership for a recent birthday. Strength-building is important the older we get and swing time is just part of it. I use the treadmill three days a week and cover two miles each time. I have sea legs when I get off but the cardio benefit is good and I definitely feel a greater sureness in my step. I use the hip abductor and adductor weight machines to strengthen muscles in my thighs and hips. The leg press gives my knees a boost and I’m convinced keeping the serious onslaught of osteoporosis at bay is part of the benefit. I get to the gym at 5 a.m. The go-to-work people start trickling in a bit later but it’s fun to be in their midst. After my exercising I have more energy, a better general outlook and I feel good about doing something for myself. I can almost feel the fat turning into muscle.
A recent book by Dr. Lisa Callahan, “The Fitness Factor”, (Lyons Press, $24.95) is about muscular tune-up for women. Dr. Callahan says, “Strength training is beneficial for every woman – no matter what age or fitness level…and is almost magical in helping to achieve health goals.”
A year ago I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia. The nutritionist put me on a diet regimen of many small well-balanced meals with a 1300-calorie maximum for the day. I’m back to a healthy weight for my age. I’ve concluded I must not simply cope with getting old, I need to change direction and meet it head on.
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Sad truth:
10 Tips to Reduce Alzheimer Wandering
There are many reasons for someone with Alzheimer’s disease to wander. Here
are tips to help caregivers keep their loved ones safe.
1) Be prepared. There’s no way to predict who will wander or when, or
how it might happen. The best advice is to register a loved one in the
Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return Program before a loved one gets lost.
2) Encourage movement and exercise. Make a shared exercise, such as
walking, part of your daily routine together, and allow the person with
Alzheimer’s disease access to a safe, enclosed area.
3) Be objective. Dont take the person’s wandering behavior personally.
4) Be aware of hazards. Places that look safe might be dangerous for
someone with Alzheimer’s disease. Look in and around your home for potential
hazardsfences and gates, bodies of water, pools, dense foliage, bus stops,
steep stairways, high balconies and roadways where there is heavy trafficand
change what you can or block access.
5) Secure the living area. Do what you can to make your home safe and
secure. Place locks out of the normal line of visioneither very high or very
low on doors. Use doorknobs that prevent the person with Alzheimer’s from
opening the door. Other safety precautions include: placing locks on gates,
camouflaging doors, fencing in the patio or yard, installing electronic
alarms or chimes on doors, and using familiar objects, signs and nightlights
to guide the person around a safe area.
6) Communicate with the person. Regularly remind and reassure the person
with Alzheimer’s that you know how to find them and that he’s in the right
place.
7) Identify the person. Have the person wear a Safe Return
identification bracelet or necklace. Use sew-on or iron-on labels or
permanent markers to mark clothing. Place identification on shoes, keys and
eyeglasses, and in wallet and handbags.
Involve the neighbors. Inform your neighbors of your loved one’s
condition and keep a list of their names and phone numbers handy.
9) Involve the police. Some police departments will keep a photo and
fingerprints of people with Alzheimer’s on file. Have the following
information ready for emergencies: the person’s age, hair color, eye color,
identifying marks, blood type, medical conditions, medication, dental work,
jewelry and allergies.
10) Be prepared for other modes of wandering. Although most wandering
takes place on foot, some people with Alzheimer’s have been known to drive
hundreds of milessometimes in a vehicle that belongs to someone else.
Prevent this problem by keeping car keys out of sight or temporarily
disabling the car by removing the distributor cap. People with Alzheimer’s
also have traveled great distances by train, airplane or public
transportation.
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Chubb 3J60 Horizontal Mortice Lock(Reference #202)
Mechanism : 5 detainer, Case Size : 165mm, Follower 8mm, Case Finish : Silver, Foreend Finish : Silver, Keys Supplied : 2 , Handing : Reversible.
OPERATION : Deadbolt is locked or unlocked from either side. Reversible latchbolt withdrawn by knob from either side.
FEATURES : Can be masterkeyed or keyed alike with other detainer mortice locks.
Dimensions :- Case depth 165mm, Backset (follower/knob) 150mm, Backset (keyhole) 83mm, Case height 97mm, Forend length 143 mm, Forend width 25 mm.
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Key Specifications/Special Features:
- Cabinet lock
- Sliding glass door push lock showcase system
- For glass thickness 6mm
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This is the one that kinda gets me….I thought of that!
- Push-in camlock
- 4-pin tumbler mechanism (100 key combinations)
- Patent pending
