In the Spirit: Don't Drop Out on the Great Adventures of Life

Life is a journey, a great adventure. Often times the journey is a struggle. There are ups and downs, hills and valleys, mountaintop experiences and depths of despair. As we age, we fight gaining weight, wrinkles and age spots and experience the loss of family members and friends. We battle life-threatening diseases, tooth decay, high blood pressure and cholesterol. We find that, along with new aches and pains, we’re not able to do things as quickly as we once did. The journey takes its toll, and we come to a point where we may want to chuck it all and drop out.

Yet, living well in the spirit at age 50-plus means not giving up and dropping out. It means letting the rhythms of our bodies dictate when we get up and when we take our rest. It means embracing the beauty in each new wrinkle for the experiences it represents. And, like the Nike commercial says, now is the time to “Just Do It.” Do something new you’ve always wanted to do but never quite had the time to: learn to speak another language or play the mountain dulcimer or go to seminary at age 54. I did.

Living well in the spirit at age 50-plus means taking time for reflection, study and prayer, cultivating mindfulness in the Buddhist tradition, discerning God’s call, taking a risk. The late Joseph Campbell, a professor at Sarah Lawrence College, noted that the life of “Jesus represents … the life of the spirit.” Jesus answered God’s call. We hear God’s call, but it sometimes gets lost in our world’s emphasis on wealth and climbing the ladder of success. When we seek the safe way and fail to risk the unknown, life dries up. Then, in our later years, we find our ladder against the “wrong wall.” Living well in the spirit at age-50 plus means not letting our ladder end up against the wrong wall.

Rev. Vicki Ray, an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), is pastor of Salvisa Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Detecting and Treating Stroke

Stroke is the third most common cause of death in the United States, with nearly 750,000 new cases reported each year. A stroke is a brain attack that occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off or decreases. If the blood supply is cut off for several hours, the brain cells die. Stroke is seen most often in older people, though it can occur in people of all ages, even children.

There are two main types of stroke: hemorrhagic and ischemic. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in part of the brain becomes weak and bursts open, causing blood to escape into the brain. This most often happens to people who have defects in the blood vessels in the brain. An ischemic stroke may be caused by clogged arteries, which happens when cholesterol, fat and other substances collect on the artery walls, forming a sticky substance called plaque. About 90 percent of strokes are ischemic strokes.

Factors that can increase the risk of having a stroke include being age 55 years or older; having high cholesterol or high blood pressure; excessive cigarette smoking; heart attack; and personal or family history of stroke. Other factors include physical inactivity, diabetes, being overweight, heavy drinking, use of illicit drugs such as cocaine and cardiovascular disease such as heart failure, a heart defect or a heart infection.

The symptoms of a stroke normally appear suddenly. The person may feel sick initially and complain of a sudden headache. He or she may have numbness in their face or limbs, mainly down one side of the body. He or she may also experience sudden weakness, confusion and unexplained dizziness. People having a stroke may appear confused and have trouble talking or understanding what is being said to them. They could have trouble walking or keeping their balance and have vision problems. Sometimes a seizure or loss of consciousness may occur. A person may lose one or more of their functions, depending on what part of the brain was damaged. He or she may lose his or her speech, part of his or her vision or lose the ability to perform certain movements.

As with a heart attack, every minute counts in getting immediate medical attention to a stroke victim so brain damage and future disability are minimized. Most patients must reach the hospital within three hours after the symptoms begin, and some may receive medication or drugs up to four to five hours after symptoms begin.

To treat a stroke, a doctor may administer oxygen and insert an intravenous drip to provide adequate fluids and nutrients to the affected person. Thrombolytic therapy or clot-busting drugs are used if the stroke was caused by a blood clot; this medicine breaks up the blood clots and helps bring blood flow back to the damaged area. However, this does not work for everyone. In the case of an ischemic stroke, aspirin is commonly given to reduce the risk of death or the occurrence of a second heart attack.

Depending on the type and cause of the stroke, blood thinners or anticoagulant drugs may be given to stop new clots from forming and prevent future strokes. In some cases, a special stroke team and skilled radiologists use angiography to highlight the clogged blood vessel and open it up. Surgery is often needed to remove blood from around the brain if bleeding occurred and to fix damaged blood vessels. Surgery may also be performed if there is a blockage in a neck artery in order to remove the build up of plaque to prevent a future stroke.

After treatment, occupational, physical, speech and swallowing therapy may begin in the hospital. The recovery time and need for long-term treatment of stroke varies from person to person. Once the patient is feeling better, she or he will be encouraged to make certain lifestyle changes, which may include changing the diet, quitting smoking and increasing physical activity.

For the Morrisons, It's All About Love

A.B. and June Morrison, are perfect examples of people who may have started late in life but are finishing strong.

A.B. and June play tennis regularly at the Lexington Tennis Club. “I started playing tennis in my late 40s,” said A.B., who is 86. “The reason I started is my sons picked up tennis and they didn’t have anybody else to beat, so they picked on me. I was a good subject.”

“And I wasn’t going to sit at home, so I joined them,” added June, who’s 81.

A.B. was successful at his newly chosen sport, playing in local, regional and national U.S. Tennis Association tournaments for 24 years. “Most of the time I was playing very competitive singles,” he said. “I’m not bragging, but if you get on a tennis court with me, you’d better be ready to play.”

June generally plays with people much younger than she. “I’m the oldest in my group,” she said. “They’re all in their 60s, but I can outrun them.”

The couple added weight training to their fitness regimen, especially after A.B. encountered some physical problems. When he received a new titanium hip about eight years ago, nerves in his left foot were damaged, leaving him unable to lift it.

“I spent eight years of therapy that most people would not believe,” he said. “I brought the therapist over (to the club) from Cardinal Hill and I said, ‘You show me the things I can do to get my foot to move again.’ I came over here every day for four years, seven days a week, and my foot began to move just a tiny bit.”

Encouraged, A.B. decided to take up tennis again. He still does physical therapy to help his foot, but he has cut back somewhat. “I don’t come over here seven days a week,” he said. “I do six days a week now.” His foot is slowly improving, though he says he still has a long way to go to get it fully functional. “If I live to be 150, I think all those nerves will come back,” he said. “That’s all I have to do.”

June also enjoys working out at the club. “She just started personal training with me last July,” said Christy Herring, who works primarily with the 10-and-under Quickstart program at the tennis club and is a personal trainer. “She would walk on the treadmill and do aerobics. Then she started working out.”

“I like it better than tennis,” June said. “We do all kinds of functional training.”

A.B. still weighs the same as he did when he was in the Marines, but it is a challenge because June is a good cook, he says. “How I can keep my weight, I’ll never know. I have to keep moving.”

That’s the advice he wants to share with other seniors. “If you’ve got a real physical problem – and I say it because I’ve been there – don’t give up,” he said. “It may look dark and dreary and you may think, ‘I’m not going to get any better,’ but you’ve got to keep on going no matter what.”