Fast approaching the tender age age of 87 I find that my physical attributes are not too bad if you take into account two dodgy knees, however, my short term memory is in dire need of about 15 gigs of RAM. I can still hitch up Nelly Ming Mong without too much trouble and my eyesight is still ok. (specs for reading) but I sometimes cannot remember what happened yesterday, as for peoples names alas, tis a big problem.
I get up a couple of times in the night to go for a walk to the ensuite which, although its a pain in the aspidistra, one gets used to it after a while. I have a movement operated night light in the toilet which insures that my aim is accurate. I realised that this was essential after a couple of disasters early on. All things being equal, we are both pretty good but I have to be aware at all times of my balance which has become a bit of a problem of late.
Very lucky to have got ( I absolutely refuse to use the american version of this word) this far without any major headaches and for that I owe a great big thanks to my Fenland genes. They were tough old fellers in Cambridgeshire those days. they had to be. I would like to know how many of my fellow wanderers cope with advancing years?
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Those who wish to reap the blessings of freedom must, as men, endure the fatigue of defending it.
Know how you feel Magnarc, going through the same frequent visits to you know where. I have lights and special floor mats in the loo and hand rails on every entry and important places.
With one hand I find it difficult to Clean my teeth, shower, all with a recently broken left arm right at the top which has been in a sling for 5 weeks now. Cant be plastered, or pinned thus the
sling. As for aim non existant. I have 4 hospital bottles secreted around the house for emergencies, almost impossible to use wth one hand.
Because of all the added medications, 3 weeks in hospital, my other ailments went through the roof, thus now on insulin full time and in a wheel chair.
But all is not lost. Good vision, lots of blond hair, good hearing, lovely careing wife and lots of friends.
My only message to the younger nomads is, don't get old.
Recently rebuilt my cb750f2 honda bike, I was looking forward to riding it everywhere after being off the road for 7 years,
Took it to get the roadworthy & thought, wow,how come the bike feels so heavy,
Not the bike of course, it's the 77 year old muscles!
Probably sell the old girl[1982 model] before I kill myself, as someone said once, such is life.
Joda
There is a simple " balance " exercise, but as with all advice be careful. This one, have a bench top or highback chair adjacent to you.
Put one foot directly in front of the other, then look left, then look right. Reverse your feet and repeat. You will probably feel wobbly and want to fall, hence the back up chair or bench, but persist and you do get better.
Well done Magnarc, for an Emu you are going great,hopefully you will pass Ossie Ostrich (akka Ernie Carroll) from the" Hey Hey it is Saturday Show" he sadly passed away at 92.
We are in our Eighties and still caravanning,finding it harder and harder every new trip.
But we will keep on keeping on till we find out we can no longer do it.
My balance is alright ,but the better half struggles a lot. Still love free camping in NE Victoria and along the Murray.
Haji you have more than a fair bit to cope with mate. Makes my problems feel like a walk in the park, but you are hanging in there, and it's good to hear that there are folks who care about you.
All the best mate.
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Those who wish to reap the blessings of freedom must, as men, endure the fatigue of defending it.
There is a simple " balance " exercise, but as with all advice be careful. This one, have a bench top or highback chair adjacent to you.
Put one foot directly in front of the other, then look left, then look right. Reverse your feet and repeat. You will probably feel wobbly and want to fall, hence the back up chair or bench, but persist and you do get better.
Now , what was the answer ????
Craig, my merry man. This isn't the first time that you have given good advice on this forum. Thanks for that I will certainly give it a go and let you know what the result is.
When I pick myself up off the floor! (just joking)
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Those who wish to reap the blessings of freedom must, as men, endure the fatigue of defending it.
I am a young 83 and have been somewhat concerned about my noticeably declining health but your attitude has given me a lift.
We have recently downsized & moved into a lifestyle village. Should have done it a decade ago! The change in lifestyle is amazing. Where previously we rattled around in our double story family home with great but large gardens with hedges everywhere, interacting with only next door neighbours who were progressively moving on, we are now extremely active in the very welcoming & friendly village community. Something 'on' every day to be involved in if you wish.
I feel that the increased social interaction has been very good for my mental health along with my cognitive ability that has been in steady decline in recent years.
The social aspect of caravanning is very important to us & will be missed as I become physically unable to continue.
Some adjustments that I have made to cope -
My aim or dribbling is not a problem as I now always sit down to pee.
My in-ability to handle the garden establishment in my new home using a trailer & wheelbarrow has been negated by using a home delivery of bags of the stuff lifted over a 1.6M retaining wall into the required location by a crane truck.
(2 Cubic Meters of soil, 1/2 Cubic Meter crusher dust, 1 Cubic Meter Cyprus Mulch, 1/2 Cubic Meter river stones, 35 300x600 concrete pavers - that's just for starters)
This adjustment only cost an extra $260 and reduced the time to do the job by weeks & probably saved my back and lots of pain.
When someone makes a suggestion that I want to remember or act on later, I immediately put it into 'notes' in my phone, along with shopping lists (eg what I need to pick up at my next trip to Bunnings) & important facts like my Patrol Consumables, my new postal address, coded key passwords etc.
I put in as much personal data as I can into my mobile phone 'Contacts List' like Address, children's names, birthdays, email addresses and where I can, group photos of their family.
My next project along this line is to get into using the Callender in the phone for all my appointments et al.
To me it's about finding ways to help adjust to my changing/declining abilities.
There is a simple " balance " exercise, but as with all advice be careful. This one, have a bench top or highback chair adjacent to you.
Put one foot directly in front of the other, then look left, then look right. Reverse your feet and repeat. You will probably feel wobbly and want to fall, hence the back up chair or bench, but persist and you do get better.
Now , what was the answer ????
Good news Craig, after a few wobbles I can now freestand for about 10s secs and aim to increase this as I go along. Many thanks for your input, there truly is a wealth of info amongst our tribe. I know that it has been a great benefit to me, and I suspect,a lot of others over the years.
Whisper. The boys had better perform on Sat night or they will ruin my weekend!!!
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Those who wish to reap the blessings of freedom must, as men, endure the fatigue of defending it.
