Booming On
Below is the first of a three part series that I am posting on this blog taken from a new book my wife Janet and I are writing on middle age. The book is called Booming On. We realize there are numerous books already published for Boomers about their “current situation” and the journey ahead. We also realize that change is very difficult for all of us. Even if we want to change, most of the time our “thinking” about what we want to change works against us. In the end, we are always our own worst enemy. That is why it is important to consider different ways of thinking about “change” in middle age. If we are lucky, one of them will finally provide the catalyst we have been looking for that spurs us to take action. It’s all in the action…
The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
Alan Kay
It’s 2028. The future is here, 20 year later. We are taking a sneak peak into the lives of two baby boomer couples that are now well into their late seventies. Both couples live in Southern California. Both couples have worked hard and saved diligently for retirement. Despite the similarities of location and financial dedication, decisions each couple made in their mid- 50s have created very different futures they are now living 20 years later.
Couple number one, Linda and Ted, live in retirement community north of Los Angeles that offers many levels of care. They have lived their lives using the “coping†approach, which meant adjusting to health problems as they arise but not venturing far from a lifestyle they chose 20 years ago. Linda and Ted stuck to what they knew and how they wanted to live their lives.
Ted has been in the assisted living unit for a couple years and would like to see Linda more frequently. Sometimes he gets depressed and cries. Ted has been overweight for over 30 years; 20 years ago he developed diabetes. Now he’s suffering from multiple complications of diabetes including advanced heart disease, poor circulation in his feet and lower legs, and poor vision. He is being transported to the hospital today for amputation of his left foot below the knee due to gangrene of three toes. Although the staff did their best to monitor his health, his lack of feeling in his feet due to his diabetes and limited ambulation due to his sedentary lifestyle allowed the gangrene to take hold of him. His vision problems caused by his poorly controlled diabetes resulted in him losing his drivers license many years ago. The demands of his poor health take almost 100% of his coping mode just to get through each day. Each day is a struggle for him depending on others for the most basic daily living activities. It takes almost 2 and half home care providers 7 days a week to assist him with his daily activities of living (ambulation, bathing, food preparation and eating, and visits to the doctor). His prognosis is poor and he is unlikely to survive another year.
In another part of the same retirement community, Linda and their kids are sorting through the couple’s belongings as they prepare for Linda to join Ted in the high level assisted living center. Linda had been a smoker all her life and after the development of emphysema stopped smoking 10 years ago. Unfortunately 80 pack years of smoking (40 years of smoking 2 packs a day) took its toll on her lungs. She has a constant hacking cough and audible wheezes with each respiration. Her face is covered in deep wrinkles especially surrounding her mouth accompanied by her raspy voice as she gasps for air in her tiny apartment. Her emphysema necessitates both a portable oxygen unit for day trips with her kids and a larger unit at her bedside. Between the emphysema and heart problems, she has to sleep with her oxygen on in a sitting up position or she experiences a worsening cough and heart palpitations. She curses those “damn cigarettes†daily. Her daily regimen includes taking seven medications and frequents visits to her cardiologist, pulmologist, and internist. She can no longer cook or take a bath unassisted. She is just too tired and out of breath all the time. Sally will follow Ted within 12 months of his death. Although good savers all their life, their health problems bankrupted both their quality of life and bank accounts.
Couple number two, Heather and Jack, live in the same house they have called home for over 40 years. They have lived their lives using the “upgraded†approach, which meant in their mid-50s they added good health as a goal for the rest of their lives. To reach that goal, they had to change their lifestyle, acquire a new set of habits.
Jack just celebrated his 79th birthday. Jack loves life. He is a deacon at their church, leads a men’s group on Wednesday mornings at the local coffee shop and walks three miles daily with his wife Heather. Heather and Jack cherish their 50 plus years together. Each morning as they walk, they catch up on their plans for the day, discuss the grandchildren and talk about various projects they are working on. Heather reminds Jack they need to decide if they are returning to the same small village in Mexico for their volunteer vacation next year. Heather has already talked to their granddaughter about house and pet sitting while out of the country. After their walk, Heather, who just turned 75 years old takes care of the dog, two cats and the household parrot. Later today, they are scheduled for visiting pet nursing home rounds at a retirement home with Winston the parrot and Carmella, their fat orange tabby cat. The staff and residents look forward to their biweekly visits. Jack and Heather bring a sparkly presence and a new story or two about the animal mischief in their household each visit.
Jack has a little arthritis in his back and hips but otherwise is in good health for an “old guyâ€. He continues his annual birthday health screening visits with his physician. Together the couple enjoys a high vegetable, fruit, and whole grain diet with small servings of animal protein. Both Jack and Heather maintain normal weights and blood pressures.
When Heather was age 60 during her annual health screening an early breast cancer tumor was found in her right breast without lymph node involvement. A lumpectomy and short round of chemotherapy put her into remission now in its 15th year. Heather’s biggest current health problem is her diminishing hearing. She just visited the audiologist as part of her annual check up and is excited about a new hearing aid that is almost invisible but will provide near normal hearing.
Does this example sound too extreme? Are we overstating the poor outcome of Linda and Ted? We wish that were the case. The fact is that these stories reflect what really happens in the journey from 50-something to 70-something. They portray the uncomfortable and painful truth about quality of life: you either define it or it defines you. That’s what happened to these two couples. Over 20 years ago they set off on very different paths as they invented their future in their mid-50s. Linda and Ted opted for the coping approach to embrace their senior years because they did not want to change the way they lived. Although they worked hard and planned for retirement, long term planning to preserve health and minimize disease was, in most cases, left to chance. Jack and Heather chose the upgraded approach as part of their planning for the second 50 years of life. It required change. It required dedication to a new direction in the utilization of health care, diet, physical activity and exercise, community activities, their spiritual life, and their attitude towards the stress of everyday life. These changes did not happen overnight. They were the end product of a series of “baby steps,†small but ultimately profound changes in key areas of their lives that paid huge dividends in the quality of their life today. Nor was it all smooth sailing. Despite a few detours along the way, it is clear they are experiencing a better quality of life than 20 years ago. And that is the payoff, the key to even considering upgrading or reinventing our futures.
David Solie
Topics: Boomer Issues | 1 Comment »
April 16th, 2008 at 3:53 am
Oh my gosh, David. Poignant, thought-provoking stuff. PLEASE make an announcement when that book is out!