How Old is 76?

Last week, at an independent living retirement community, I met a lady, Joan, who came in to meet with one of our doctors.  She made the appointment because she said that her balance was getting worse…and she did not want to wait until she got hurt to do something.

Apparently, Joan has been living in the senior community for about 6 years…and she has seen some of her neighbors suffer injury from a fall. She then witnessed the rapid decline that followed…and decided that she would do everything she could to avoid the fall that would trigger the end of her otherwise good health.

After she met with the doctor to determine next steps for her Fall Risk
Assessment… I asked if she would chat a few more minutes.  During the next few minutes, I learned that Joan had been widowed just prior to moving into the retirement community…her son lives in another state, but visits frequently…she likes to walk around the community grounds in the morning… and she is very busy with various activities and committees in her community.

During the chat, Joan received a ring-tone from her new smart phone.  The ring-tone was a song that I have heard, but didn’t really recognize… and she said it was “I Kissed a Girl” by Katie Perry.  I confessed that I was amazed that she would pick that for a ring tone....and that she has a smart phone that was beyond my abilities.

Joan’s response was awesome…  she said she had heard the tune at a lunch outing a few weeks before and she liked it…so she asked her friend’s daughter to put it on the phone for her.  Then, she mentioned that she doesn’t yet know
how to use the features on her phone…but SHE’S LEARNING!!!!

That response is a response of youth and excitement… and at that moment, I realized that the clock doesn’t measure our age…it’s just a reminder that there’s more to do and more to learn in whatever time remains.

Keep moving!

Mike

www.FallPreventionClinics.com