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The Struggle over Medical Decisions at the End of Life March 28, 2017 by Paula Spencer Scott - When retired professor Jeffrey Butler suffered a stroke at age 79, the prevailing concept of “the best medicine” kicked in to save him. He survived, though unable to complete full sentences. During stroke rehab, he developed a painful intestinal hernia. To qualify for the surgery recommended to repair it, a cardiac exam was ordered. When it showed a slow heartbeat, a pacemaker was urged.
Vulnerable LGBT Elders Are Going Back into the Closet March 28, 2017 by Ellen Rand - Lawrence Johnson and Alexandre Rheume were an interracial couple who had been together 38 years until Rheume—22 years older than Johnson—needed professional care as his health declined.
When There’s Big News about Health, Should You Believe It? March 28, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - To be fair, at first glance, it did sound like a huge story.
“Metastatic Prostate Cancer Cases Skyrocket,” proclaimed the press-release headline in July of 2016. New cases of an incurable form of prostate cancer rose a whopping 72 percent from 2004 to 2013...
Death Cafes Are All about Life March 28, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - Death comes to all. But heaven forbid it be mentioned.
Certainly not over tea and cake.
At the Mercy of Strangers March 28, 2017 by Wendy Lustbader - In a culture that values independence above all, many are terrified of growing dependent on the care of others. What could bring dignity and even meaning to the frailty we may face at the ends of our lives?
Want to Live in a Great Place? Find an Age-Friendly City—or Town March 28, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - Among other things, an age-friendly community is walkable and safe, with opportunities for older people to find a job or volunteer, and to connect with others.
100 Years and Counting: What Makes a Centenarian? March 28, 2017 by Flora Davis - People who survive for 100 years or more owe their long lives to: their genes a healthy lifestyle a healthy bank account great medical care an upbeat personality a sheltered, low stress life all of the above Don’t give in…
Successful Aging—It’s Not Impossible March 28, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - Maybelle lives with her daughter, Ella, in a two-bedroom house in rural Nevada. At 76 years old, Maybelle controls her type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure as best she can. Years of caring for her ailing husband left little…
It Takes a Village to Age in Place March 28, 2017 by Robert Miskimon and Flora Davis - When Janet Swenson enrolled her 87-year-old mother in Lincoln Park Village, a Chicago organization for older people, she was delighted with the results. Suddenly, her mother had help with household maintenance, someone to call for transportation or to find a…
Tim Carpenter: Retirement Can Unleash Creativity March 28, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - When you’re talking to Tim Carpenter about how he envisions the future of old age, at some point it strikes you: he’s talking about older people as … people. They’re not “seniors.” They’re not “the 62-and-older crowd.” They’re not … other.
The Power of Positive Aging March 28, 2017 by Flora Davis - Do you feel good about growing older? If you do, you may very well live longer than those who dread old age. This good news (or bad news, depending on how you feel about aging) emerged from a study done…
Single and Childless: Will That Be a Problem in Later Life? March 28, 2017 by Dana DiFilippo - Cindy Abrams never married or had children, a fate forged partly by chance and partly by choice. The Connecticut woman once dated a man she thought could be The One but chucked him when her dad objected because he wasn’t…
Katherine Freund: Imagining a Time When Older People Won’t Need to Drive March 28, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - Her knees aren’t great. She uses a cane. She doesn’t walk as quickly as she used to. And the nearest bus stop is a couple of miles away. She promised her kids she wouldn’t drive. So what now?
One More for the Road? Maybe Not March 28, 2017 by Holly C. Corbett - Baby boomers are working harder and playing longer than previous generations—and toasting life to its fullest at the end of the day. But for many, it may be time to think about holding back a bit as we pour the…
What Kind of Old Age Will You Have? March 28, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - Imagine that researchers could tell you how to plot your way to a satisfying old age. Would you listen? The researchers think you would, and they’ve been trying to map that elusive path for decades. They’ve quizzed countless older people…
Transitioning Out of the Fast Lane March 27, 2017 by Liz Seegert - Are you a go-go or a go-slow? Or maybe even a no-go?
It’s not some new Dr. Seuss book, but another way to describe the various stages of growing older. Barring a catastrophic event, older adults typically fall into one of five major life stages that take them from active and healthy to completely dependent on others.
Bag Lady Syndrome: The Fear of Dying Broke and Alone March 27, 2017 by Liz Seegert - In Woody Allen’s film Blue Jasmine, a once-wealthy socialite (Cate Blanchett) sits on a park bench muttering to herself, having lost everything. With no money, no real job skills and no family to help, all she has left is a…
Pioneering the New Old Age March 27, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - It’s like cancer. Like a heart attack. Like death. Old age—it’s something that happens to other people. And it’s not pretty. That’s how some of us think of it, anyway, if we think of it at all. “Most people in…
How to Save a Life March 27, 2017 by Leigh Ann Hubbard - Sally Jacobson had about a month to live. A few months before, she’d been tired, sure—not feeling so great. But she was bustling along, balancing work and family in Grand Forks, ND. Then she got some great news: a promotion…
Armed and Aging: Is That a Problem? March 27, 2017 by Dana DiFilippo - Richard Swift grew up in the era of John Wayne and Gene Autry, cinematic cowboys whose armed antics drove his daydreams. He had a BB gun years before the first whiskers sprouted on his chin. At 12, he got a…
Senior Centers Are Evolving - The first time Sue and Mike Miller visited their community’s senior center in Portage, MI, several years ago, they found a few people playing pool or bridge—and decided it wasn’t for them. But the couple tried again in 2022, when…
The Upside and Downside of Being Owned by a Cat - I love my cat, but until now, I hadn’t thought of her as a way to stay healthy. In fact, when I first brought Velvet—a small, feisty black kitty—home, I thought of her as a dog substitute. My beloved dog…