Are we only as old as we think we are?

I started blogging in 2006.  We had been RVing for 16 years and I decided to keep our family informed about where we were and what we were doing through a blog.  I was 63 years old.  But age is just a number isn't it?  Aren't we only as old as week feel we are?

Today we are 77, nearly 78 years old.  So, how old to I feel I am?  Every bit of those 77 years!  

About 19 years ago, I suffered a torn meniscus and it hurt, at times pretty bad.  After a period of time, I went to the urgent care nearby and had an Xray.  They sent me to a surgeon.  Until the surgery was scheduled, I wrapped the knee and went about my normal everyday life--as best I could.  That surgery made a real difference.

Eventually, that meniscus surgery no longer took care of the problem.  My knee began to bother me, almost every time I stepped on that foot.  Long story short, in mid-November I had a total knee replacement of my right knee. 

Let me tell you, those years have made a difference.  The surgery has healed well.  I am recovering very well.  But, at 77 healing and total recovery takes time--more than I would like.  Every time we walk, I feel it in my right knee. It hurts.  And the long we walk, the more it hurts.  

I haven't recovered like I did nearly 20 years ago.  I wonder why?  Is it my age, do you think?  I know I do.   It took my 77+ years to get to this point.  And every bone, joint and muscle in my body is also 77 years old.  They are at times as slow acting and as slow recovering as I am.

Age is more than how I feel.  Age is an actual, verifiable fact.  Live with it.

Who Knew There Was So Much Needing Repair?

Each fall when we return to Arizona, we schedule check-ups with all our medical providers.  As we get older, there are more and more providers and it takes a while to get them all scheduled.  And this year, there was one more—John felt I should have my hearing checked.

So, when all was said and done, the relatively minor ache in my right knee led to a total knee replacement.  And not long after, the hearing test revealed I really can’t hear very well and hearing aides were ordered.

A one-night stay in the hospital and I came home with a new knee.  I am up to walking over three miles a day.  It is a little sore but getting better each day.

The hearing aides are taking some adjusting to.  I didn’t realize the world was such a noisy place.  Even toilet paper is noisy.  So is walking across the floor or over gravel.  Doors slam easily and LOUD. The clock on the wall might as well be Big Ben in London with all the noise it makes. How many of you have experienced these reactions, too?

John has been wearing hearing aides for nearly 30 years, so he can commiserate and tell me which irritations I will learn to live with or not notice.  But, frankly, walking is easier than hearing correctly.

Getting old has it’s down side, but I can count my blessings.  First off, I live in a time and have the resources to get these issues taken care of.  And nothing is life threatening.  I can’t say as much for some of our neighbors here.  We are really blessed to live in a time and a country where issues like this can be corrected—or at least improved.  And we are also blessed to have the insurance to pay for it. Thank God for Medicare. 

Merry Christmas everyone!  Surely 2020 will end and 2021 will be a better year.  We hope and pray you all stay healthy during this pandemic.