Ode on Growing Older
My body’s aching and I can’t ignore
That I’m more comfortable sleeping on the floor
Could you speak up? You’re hard to hear.
I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with either ear.
I have to use the bathroom a hundred times or more
As soon as I leave the bathroom,I’m running back through the door.
All these issues could be part of my PD
But can also be due to the new Older Me.
Our May meeting will shine some light
On when the “why’ matters and what we can do to fight.
Details
Ideas for topics and speakers come to me in various ways. Our marvelous members are a rich source of both. Member ideas have brought us meditation, qigong, nutrition, physical therapists, speech therapists and more. Sometimes, the topic or speaker offers itself such as a major break in research or a neurologist willing to take on the group. And sometimes, they just come from real life, what is happening in our lives. This is one of those.
When first diagnosed, I kept hearing about about all the motor and non-motor effects. So many problems attributable to PD or it’s treatments. Books had sketches of the body with every organ affected by PD named. Lately, though, many of the medical team’s comments start with, “When you get to a certain age” or “as we get older”.
So our May speaker is Maura Sughrue, M.D, a Family Practitioner at Fairfax Family Practice. She has served as Chairperson of the Department of Family Practice at Inova Fairfax Hospital since 1990. She is a strong advocate for her patients, which might be another good topic to ask her about. Her primary topic, however , is normal aging. We all know there’s no cookie cutter pattern to aging but it will be interesting to hear about age ranges , say, for cataracts or menopause. What is normal memory loss? What’s this bladder issue I’m having about? What can we do to be our best selves as long as possible? When is something just an ache and when should you see a doctor? There are so many angles and she’s willing to do Q&A – bring your questions