Aging takes us all for surprise. Each one of us ages differently, we can’t reverse aging, but can try to slow it down, and we try to develop successful aging therapy so that we can enjoy our golden years. However when we see our aging parents, we really begin to appreciate the complexity of the aging problem.
My mother, an incredibly social and independent woman, has been aging rapidly. Soon after she turned 80, speech and balance seem to get steadily worse. Falling seemed to be a consistent activity, and words would escape her. Her doctors and I agree that she is probably having tiny strokes in her brain, which causes her to no end, immense frustration and depression. Her social life is now non-existent, she can no longer play bridge, and her handwriting ability is disintegrating.
However what concerns me the most are her aches and pains. Often after she has fallen, we can’t see if she is seriously hurt, since fractures can take up to 12 days to be recognized on an x-ray. Then there are the pains from unknown causes, such as a heel pain that she had recently. It was so severe that for four days she rested her foot and did little walking. The worst has been the broken ribs, which has happened twice. It takes a month for her ribs to heal, and the first two weeks are always the hardest, since coughing and laughing are exceedingly painful. The good news is that Elixer Arnica Sports RubTM helps alleviate the pain and especially the bruising
The best advice I can give anyone with aging parents, is to keep them as safe and as comfortable as possible. When ever my mother has pain, I always try to give her a massage with Elixer, and I also have her caregivers to do the same. Touch is very important for seniors, and massage is a wonderful way for you to say “I love you”. For my mother’s depression, we try to keep her as active as possible, by having dinner with us every night, and dragging her to all of our kids’events along with the normally prescribed physical therapies. We are still very happy that she can be a part of our lives.
