Other Side of 50

Whose responsibility is it to remind older adult patients of their next programmed appointment? Let’s say a patient is supposed to have an in-office procedure every six months. For whatever reason, that appointment was not booked in advance. In a perfect world, both the physician’s office and the patient would share responsibility for ensuring [...]

Every so often, I think of topics that are not deep enough to be the subject of an entire column but may be noteworthy. I call these tidbits because they are small and interesting items of information. Sharing my recent tidbits with you today. Hotel Stay Recently, my husband and I took a trip [...]

The other day I was talking to my mom about a challenging interaction I was having with a gentleman. My mom was amused at this person’s bad behavior.I jokingly told my mother, “If you think he is so funny, maybe you should spend time with him.”My mother quickly responded by saying, “I’d have to tell [...]

Last week, the administration sent a memo seeking to pause potentially trillions of dollars in government loans, grants, and financial assistance. That memo was later rescinded, but it did create confusion and uncertainty, particularly in the nonprofit world. While we are not sure what the future holds, a substantial amount of local Meals on [...]

When I consider the word “home” it conjures up a safe haven. A place where one can live alone or with loved ones and a place to enjoy with friends. It’s a place to build memories and a place where we can truly just be ourselves. It is easy to see why aging in [...]

A friend stopped by over the holidays to say hello. I knew her from work activities, and we became friends, grabbing lunch occasionally and sharing anecdotes about our lives. She was a highly skilled individual, educated, and successful. I enjoy my time with her because our conversations are stimulating. My friend has been retired [...]

My friend recently shared with me that after making plans for her mother and father to come to her house for Christmas, they unexpectedly changed their mind and told her they weren’t coming. The original plan was that one of her adult children would pick her parents up and make the hour drive to [...]

Right after the Thanksgiving holiday, while we were chatting on the phone, I asked my 90-year-old mother what she was doing. She told me she was in the den in her recliner with her feet elevated. She explained that for the last few days her ankles were swollen and her legs felt tired. She [...]

Recently, my mother’s 88-year-old sister fell. As she went down, her husband said, “You just broke your hip.” I am not sure if being a medic in the army sixty years ago qualified him to make that diagnosis, but he was right. My aunt and uncle live about 90 minutes from their only daughter, [...]

Conversations with aging parents require compassion I recently witnessed a conversation at a restaurant between a woman and her mother. The woman appeared to be in her fifties or sixties and her mother in her seventies or eighties. The waitress was quickly listing the specials of the day, looking down at the table as [...]