Can You Get Botox for Knees? And Other Joys of Growing Old

[marlon]

My old friend died last night. He was my best buddy for thirty years.

My condolensces Ivan. You were quite lucky to have such a good friend for over 3 decades.


marlon

 

[Astronuc]

This week my father is recovering from a third round of chemotherapy to hopefully prevent micrometastisis from colon cancer. His immune system took a whack, and the white blood cell count dropped to very low levels.

Of my father's college class, only 5 of about 65 are still alive.

My mom told me she'll probably be getting a pacemaker.

My mother-in-law experienced some adverse effects due to interactions of two medications. She had shortness of breathe and symptoms similar to congestive heart failure.

And my wife will be going to a neurologist for tests next week.


and I need a vacation from life.

My only complaint at the moment is tinnitus - a constant high-pitched ringing in my right ear.

 

[Kurdt]

Sorry to hear that Astronuc. It seems it never rains but pours.

I offer my best wishes to your family members and hope they feel better soon. And I'm also hoping you get a well deserved holiday where your worries will melt away in the near future.

 

[turbo]

Sorry to hear about all the health problems, Astronuc. I should feel fortunate that my father and my mother-in-law (81 and 90) are pretty healthy and living independently. I see now why you need a get-away.

 

[Astronuc]

My dad could have avoided all he's been through, if only he had had a colonoscopy a few years beforehand. He waited until after the cancer had a chance to fully develop. As it stands we 'hope' he'll be in remission after the next two treatments. And then he may have a few more years left. He's going try and hang on long enough to take care of mom. His goal has been to outlive her, so she won't have to be alone after he's gone. If he goes first, I expect she won't live much longer after that.

 

[turbo]

Last year, I got scoped from both ends with a clean bill of health. It's not convenient or any fun at all, but it beats letting a relatively treatable form of cancer get a foothold, and at age 54, it was time to take a look. It's easy to forget that those of us in the US who have no insurance coverage could not afford these potentially life-saving diagnostic tests and are sentenced to death, or a long lingering disease (if treatment is available from some source) simply because they are poor. The rest of the industrialized world does not treat their citizens this way. It seems that in the US, if you are poor (for whatever reason) your life is expendable. This might be the norm in some despotic states in Asia and Africa, and South and Central America, but we can and should do better. I hope I didn't go too far OT, but inadequate or entirely missing health care coverage is going to be a HUGE issue when our (boomer) generation moves into retirement age and peoples' bodily systems start failing.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Astronuc, I am sorry to hear that things are going so badly. I hope things improve, but I am most concerned about your wife. I wasn't aware that she was having problems. Please keep us informed.

I wanted to post a pic of Jim. I probably knew most of his faults and weaknesses, and though I'm feeling a bit emotional right now I have said this for years: He was the best man I have ever known and the best friend I can ever hope to have. He was truly a rare gift.

http://www.chicoer.com/oroville/ci_6266738

At the funeral I met one his physics students from the class of 1957, and like most of the town of Oroville, Ca., he still called Jim, Mr. Rossas.

He had a masters in mathematics from Berkeley [later he added an education degree], and while working on his Ph.D., he took a summer trip through Northern California. By chance he stopped in a little town along the way called Oroville and struck up a conversation with someone from the school district. The school district was a desparate need of a science and math teacher, and before it was over, Jim had been convinced to stay in Oroville and teach for a year to two until they could get someone else. He never left and Oroville would forever be his home.

Jim traveled the world, and as was noted at the funeral, he was not a tourist, rather, he was a traveler in the truest sense. He loved to immerse himself in the cultures that he encountered. He traveled throughout Asia, the Indonesian islands, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, and I have spent at least many hundreds of hours listening to his stories. But of all, my favorite two are the following:

On one trip he visited a village somewhere I think in deepest darkest Africa where cannibalism was only one generation removed - many of the elders were once quite found of long-pig. To reach the village it was necessary to travel by boat for many miles, and being so remote, the people of the village had no use for money, so it was expected that each person would brings gifts. Well, this is one that I never let Jim live down. He took razor blades! I said Jim! You gave razor blades to cannibals? Forevermore, if I didn't agree with something he said, I often would remind him of the razor blades and then suggest that he may not have the best judgement. We always got a good laugh out of this.

Another one of my favorites I think comes from the same trip. The area would often experience flash floods, so the homes were all built on stilts. When Jim and his party pulled up to the main guest house for the village, the boat was tied to a tree, and everyone hauled their luggage up the steeply sloped walkway to the house. The next morning, Jim was quite surprised to see that the river had flooded and the water was nearly all the way up to the house. He looked down and saw the rear end of the boat sticking up out of the water and realized that being tethered to the tree, the front end was being held under. Jim wondered aloud how they were going to leave but the man of the house told him not to worry. Not long after, the wife dove off the front of the house, swam underwater, and untied the boat. Apparently this was just another common duty for housewives before preparing breakfast.

He was a fascinating man who lived a fascinating life, and it was an honor to call him my friend. Rest in peace Jim. We all loved you very much and I will miss you more than I can say.

http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/1056/jimzs4.jpg

 

[Astronuc]

Update: My dad starts a 4th round of chemo next week. He's almost recovered from the last one.

My wife went to the doctor and a preliminary examination indicates progressive neuropathy. She's been getting numbness in her hands and feet, and pains in hips and lower back. She has a susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis so the neuropathy could be related to an auto-immune issue.

More tests are required, and hopefully a cause and treatment identified. One part of the treatment is vitamin supplements, with which she hasn't been consistent.

My concern is that this could be the beginning of long degenerative process starting with the loss of the use of her hands and feet - not what we expected. Hopefully there is some treatment that slows or arrests the problem.


So take your vitamins, eat well and exercise.


On a brighter note, the wife of the brother of my sister-in-law (widow of my younger brother) gave birth to healthy baby boy - 7.5 lbs and 21 inches. They named him after my brother. That's very sweet.

 

[turbo]

May your father and your wife both have positive outcomes. My wife and I are thinking of you and yours.

 

[Astronuc]

My wife's tests were negative or inconclusive. We can rule out heavy metal poisoning and a few other things, but more tests are scheduled.

Meanwhile, my dad is having a rough time after the 4th round of chemo, and my mom is going into hospital on Monday for angioplasty and possibly cardiac stents. The pacemaker will come later. My siblings and I are starting to plan for the inevitable death of either parent - the survivor will need a significant amount of support.

 

[radou]

Sorry to hear about all this, Astronuc. I hope all of you good folks will get through this period with as little pain and suffering as possible.

 

[Astronuc]

My father completed a fourth round of chemo and was being tested for a 5th round. Each time it's been a little bit worse for him. Well the good news is that he seems to be cancer free, i.e. below detectable levels. He may be in remission, but he will be tested again in several weeks for confirmation. If it does come back however, it's likely to come back with a vengeance. But at least he got a few more years.

My mom has some issues with blood pressure and erratic pulse, which are possibly consequences of a severe illness she had 6 weeks ago. So we have to watch her. I'll be visiting my parents over thanks giving with my wife and kids.

My wife has another test in 10 days concering her neuropathy. So it's wait and see.

The mothers of my sister-in-law (widow) and a close friend are in the hospital and they aren't doing very well. My wife's mom is still hanging in there, but she's slowed way down this past year.

 

[turbo]

I'm very sorry to hear about this cluster. My family suffered through a really bad patch about 20 years ago and there were times when it seemed that we couldn't catch a break.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Tsu goes in for a rather nasty test tomorrow.

...hoping for the best.

 

[turbo]

My thoughts are with you both.

 

[Astronuc]

Tsu goes in for a rather nasty test tomorrow.

...hoping for the best.

Hoping for the best as well!

 

[edward]

Here is a little sing along to hopefully cheer up those of us who are a bit mature in years.

 

[Evo]

Tsu goes in for a rather nasty test tomorrow.

...hoping for the best.

Ivan, this worries me, is she ok?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

We hope so...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

All is well. Tsu got food poisoning about two months ago, and this has led to minor complications. All of the really bad stuff is ruled out.

 

[Moonbear]

All is well. Tsu got food poisoning about two months ago, and this has led to minor complications. All of the really bad stuff is ruled out.

That's a relief that the worst has been ruled out! Here's hoping she is feeling better quickly.

Astronuc, sorry to hear your family is going through such a rough spell too. That must be incredibly hard on the caretakers being spread so thin in the family with so many illnesses at once.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Astronuc, sorry to hear your family is going through such a rough spell too. That must be incredibly hard on the caretakers being spread so thin in the family with so many illnesses at once.

No kidding! These sort of problems can be a real strain on the entire family. Hang in there Astronuc.

 

[Astronuc]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_people

Yone Minagawa of Japan dies at 114, making Edna Parker of the United States, 106 days younger, the oldest living person in the world.

My grandfather lived to 103.5 yrs. He died just after midnight Jan 1, 2003.

He had been hospitalized for about the last two months with recurrent respiratory infections. He had recovered before Christmas only to get another illness shortly thereafter. Just after Christmas, it was decided to let him go, since that was his wish. He just did not want to be bed-ridden, which was the only alternative at that point. His knees had pretty much given out.

Even on his 103rd birthday, he was remarkably coherent and still sharp.

I have a video of him on his 100th birthday.

 

[Evo]

All is well. Tsu got food poisoning about two months ago, and this has led to minor complications. All of the really bad stuff is ruled out.

Thank goodness, tell her I said hi and I hope she's feeling better soon.

 

[Astronuc]

The mother of my widowed sister-in-law is going into hospice tonight. She is suffering from scleroderma and dermatomyositis. To survive, she would require a lung transplant, but more than likely would not survive the surgery. So she is expected to die within the next week or two.

She is a very gracious and brave person who has made her last plans, put her affairs in order, visited her ranch and a few other special places, and said good-byes to friends and family. Now that's the way to go. And she will be missed.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dermatomyositis/dermatomyositis.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/scleroderma.html

 

[hypatia]

My Granny died last week at 105 yrs old. She is the 5th generation to top 100, and she was very active until 4 days befor she died. My Uncle{her son} is next in line at 82 and still going strong.
Sorry to hear about your family Astro, sending all good thoughts and wishes your way. My mother has had progressive neuropathy for over 25 years. She deals very well with the numbness, its the pain that makes things hard. Hers was a precursor to diabetes, which came 10 years after the onset of neuropathy.

 

[turbo]

If you are growing old, make as many financial preparations as possible while you are young. I got a letter from a pension administrator for a former employer today (who owes me a pension for 10 years of employment) saying that they didn't have my current address on file. How, might you ask, did they get the letter to me, complete with a 5+4 Zipcode (and even I don't know the last 4 numbers of my Zip)? Their website was a complete mess, and it wouldn't let me log in and register as a new user, though it pretended to be configured to do so. Nothing but cryptic error messages every time I filled in the fields and clicked the "register" button. OK, I called the 800 number with its predictable automated data entry. This is a smart one, though, and it will not let you bypass and get to a live operator until you at least enter your SS#, date of birth, and Zip code (wonder why they need that?). After a wait of at least 15 minutes with a recorded harpy thanking me for my patience, I got a presumably live representative who asked me for all the information that I had punched in, plus previous addresses and contact information from over 10 years ago. Then she said OK, I need to know when you separated from the company. Expecting a year would be sufficient, I told her 1988, and she said that there was nothing further that she could do to update my address until I provided the exact date, month, and year. The entire procedure is designed to throw as many obstacles in your path as possible. I will contact a friend at that company on Tuesday and ask her if she can dredge up that 19+ year old information from the personnel records. Heaven knows what might have happened had I died and my wife tried to collect on my pension. She'd probably have to hire a lawyer at a couple of hundred dollars an hour to pursue a pension worth probably no more than a couple of hundred dollars a month. Dying is not just a result of getting old - there are lots of ways it can happen, so don't put your families through hell. Get your affairs in order as best you can and keep your will, beneficiary selections, etc updated. My wife and I both have copies of our wills (and Living Wills) in our safe and on file with our attorney, but pensions, IRAs, 401Ks, etc all have their own quirks, and they all have to be kept up with. Good luck, all.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

My Granny died last week at 105 yrs old. She is the 5th generation to top 100, and she was very active until 4 days befor she died. My Uncle{her son} is next in line at 82 and still going strong.

I'm sorry to hear about your Granny, Hypatia, and I'm envious of your genes. It sounds like she was blessed with not only a long life, but a healthy one as well.

When I called to wish him a happy bday, I was shocked to learn that my baby brother just turned 40! I thought he had a couple of years left before transforming into Middle-aged Man.

Sometimes, when I watch the news, or when I think of my own age, or when I hear of some icon who has died, I think I might be dreaming.

 

[Astronuc]

My Granny died last week at 105 yrs old. She is the 5th generation to top 100, and she was very active until 4 days befor she died. My Uncle{her son} is next in line at 82 and still going strong.

My condolensces to you and your family, hypatia. I am glad that Granny was strong until the end. My grandfather died at 103.5 yrs. Recurrent pulmonary infections wore him out, and with the final one, the family honored his DNR request. He had enough.

Sorry to hear about your family Astro, sending all good thoughts and wishes your way. My mother has had progressive neuropathy for over 25 years. She deals very well with the numbness, its the pain that makes things hard. Hers was a precursor to diabetes, which came 10 years after the onset of neuropathy.

My mother-in-law has diabetes, which recently developed, so it is a concern with my wife. My wife also smoked for about 15 years, and she quit shortly after we married. Her father, a heavy smoker, died of lung and brain cancer, so that's also a concern. At the moment the neuropathy may be due to compression on some nerves, so hopefully it's treatable. But we'll just have to watch it.

Unfortunately, I must report that my sister-in-law's mother died last week at a young age of 63. She suffered from scleroderma and dermatomyositis. She went downhill rather quickly.

I didn't mention it earlier, but we received sad news a few weeks ago that the son (20 yrs) of one of my wife's cousins was killed in automobile accident. He was driving home at 4 am from a party, when he turned to wide, collided with a parked car, and the car he was driving flipped over and he was ejected. I suspect the young man had probably been drinking (but I can't confirm), possibly driving too fast, and not wearing a seat belt.

So please, if you go out drinking, find someone who is sober to drive one home, or crash where you are. Your life is very precious to others.

 

[Huckleberry]

Hope you are well despite all the recent bad news, Astronuc.