Quality of Life et al.

After returning from my latest doctor visit, and living as I do amongst a large population of senior citizens, I was reminded once again that life without real quality of life isn't life at all – just a fading respiration process as we wind down into our terrestrial escape... 

The formula to delay the onset of problems caused by advanced aging is well known: proper sleep,  eating a Mediterranean diet, and exercising 4-5 days a week are the beginning of the equation, but it turns out that work and career are the glue that help tie it all together.  Exercising the mind is as important as exercising the body, and studies now show that working past retirement age slows, if not prevents, the onset of dementia...

As my father spiraled down the long road of dementia, he became angry and aggressive, a problem often compounded by the fact that he was getting urinary tract infections that made him act like an absolute lunatic.  Read Paula Span's (NY Times) New Old Age post "When Aggression Follows Dementia" at http://nyti.ms/13V9vVj  It's a common problem...

My father's dementia was worsened by the fact that he had macular degeneration, making him think that he was seeing writing on the walls.  When an elderly person of advanced age can see and hear, they feel that they're still here, still in the world.  Quality of life isn't a sexy subject, but in this writer's view, it's the only one that really counts...

Here are some more organizations to know about.  Visit my Resources page at http://bit.ly/12Pb695
to find many more...

Children of Aging Parents  http://www.caps4caregivers.org  Children of Aging Parents is a non-profit charitable organization whose mission is to assist caregivers... 

Association for Macular Diseases  http://www.macula.org  Like audiology and hearing loss, there's not enough attention paid to quality of life issues...

Experience Works http://www.experienceworks.org Experience Works is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit providers of training and job services for adults, aged 55 and over... 

LivHome.com http://livhome.com/  LivHome is one of the largest providers of professionally led at-home care for seniors...