Remember that old song, “Dem Bones”? It goes, “The leg bone’s connected to the knee bone; the knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone; the thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone. Now shake dem skeleton bones!” As we get older, our system is more fragile, and when it is thrown out of balance, [...]

My friend Ronnie and her sister just signed their mom up for a personal emergency alert system. It’s the kind that hangs around your neck and will signal the company if you press the button. An emergency dispatcher will respond and attempt to talk to you to see if you pushed the button in error [...]

My husband and I have established roles in our daily lives. I am the shopper, the cook, and the social secretary. My husband is the accountant, the contract reader, and the sprinkler repair man. Our roles have been established and reinforced over 33 years of marriage. I can’t imagine my husband taking over my roles [...]

I am unsure how it came to be, but over the last number of years I have become rather involved in the topic of end-of-life choices. For one, I sit on the Steering Committee for the Ventura County Coalition for Compassionate Care (VCCCC), a nonprofit organization advocating for the discussion and documentation of end-of-life wishes. [...]

As a recently unemployed older worker, you have options for health insurance, but read the fine print. It will be crucial. If you were part of a group health insurance plan sponsored by your employer and you lose your job, you may be entitled to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act or (COBRA). This health [...]

In 1988, at the age of 58, my father was laid off from his job as a lighting engineer at GTE Sylvania. Thus began his forced retirement. My mother worked two more years and left her job in the school system on her own terms. Both had vastly different experiences exiting their jobs. My father’s [...]

I’d like to start a campaign to encourage older men to address their health issues with their doctor. I have a dear sixty-something friend who recently expressed frustration because her husband refuses to get medical attention.   Statistically, men are more likely than women to be stubborn about seeing a doctor, even when they are [...]

When it comes to taking prescription medications, I am fortunate that I take only one medication and it’s a generic one. I have taken this medication for years now. Each time I get a refill, I receive the same familiar yellow colored, flat oval tablet with tapered ends. I don’t use a pill dispenser since [...]

Last week my husband and I joined a Zoom call with my mother and her financial advisor. It was an annual call to go over my mom’s needs and goals in the coming year. My husband and I are my mother’s partners in her financial decisions. Up until five years before his death, my father [...]

I call January my health month because it is when I schedule my annual doctor appointments, with my primary care physician as well as the specialists I see. One certainty is that almost all of us will have an annual wellness exam or an appointment to address a specific health concern in the coming year. [...]