Senior Living
/Health
Stroke survivor went from using a wheelchair to walking again, and started a nonprofit
Eight years ago, Deb Shaw stepped into the shower of her home in Los Gatos, California, and her vision blurred. She wobbled, fell and hit her head on the shower bench. Minutes later, she woke up on the floor.
Her head throbbed. Deb's husband, Bob Shaw, was out of town for work. Her 90-year-old father-in-law, Dale Shaw, was visiting. Deb couldn'...Read more
Protecting yourself from the painful shingles virus may also protect cardiovascular health
Shingles is a funny-sounding name for a seriously painful disease. How painful? That's hard to put into words. Printable ones, at least.
Officially, shingles pain can range from mild to severe. The words "itchy" and "burning" frequently come up in descriptions. Some use "horrendous" and "excruciating."
Sufferers might relate to David Letterman...Read more
Travel Trending with Kathy Witt: Cunard’s new Queen Anne cruise ship captivates with outstanding and original entertainment
Do not sit in the front row. It’s great advice, especially in the case of an interactive show like the Bright Lights Society’s rollicking good murder mystery aboard Cunard’s gorgeous new Queen Anne—and especially when you listen to said advice. Which I didn’t. Which is why I found myself a reluctant participant, soft shoeing before the...Read more
Is this 'slow' strength training method the fountain of youth? LA's 90-year-olds say yes
LOS ANGELES — DeLoyce Alcorn is 92 years old — and pressing nearly four times that in weight at the gym.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Alcorn — dressed in a T-Shirt that read "Be Strong. Be Resilient. Be You." — slid into the leg press machine, which was set at a whopping 312 pounds. He gripped the handlebars, closed his eyes and "...Read more
Older Americans living alone often rely on neighbors or others willing to help
Donald Hammen, 80, and his longtime next-door neighbor in south Minneapolis, Julie McMahon, have an understanding. Every morning, she checks to see whether he’s raised the blinds in his dining room window. If not, she’ll call Hammen or let herself into his house to see what’s going on.
Should McMahon find Hammen in a bad way, she plans to...Read more
Is this 'slow' strength training method the fountain of youth? LA's 90-year-olds say yes
LOS ANGELES — DeLoyce Alcorn is 92 years old — and pressing nearly four times that in weight at the gym.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Alcorn — dressed in a T-Shirt that read "Be Strong. Be Resilient. Be You." — slid into the leg press machine, which was set at a whopping 312 pounds. He gripped the handlebars, closed his eyes and "...Read more
Funeral swag? Personal branding comes to death care
MINNEAPOLIS — Jeff Johnson’s life is full of creativity and zest: He runs his own Minneapolis design firm, turns a mean polka and once starred in a Norwegian realty TV series. And he’s decided that a memorial to mark his eventual death — outlined in a seven-page legal directive titled “Jeff Johnson’s Awesome Funeral Party!!” — ...Read more
Commentary: Seniors are getting crushed by Washington's recklessness
Inflation has pulverized Americans’ finances over the last four years, and a new study shows that’s especially true for the nation’s seniors, whose retirement accounts have been walloped.
The losses have been so severe that would-be retirees need to work an extra six years on average before they can hang up their work boots—and they can...Read more
Missouri: Jackson County voting on small property tax increase for senior services
Voters heading to the polls in Jackson County have the chance to adopt a small property tax increase to fund services for seniors aged 60 and above through a ballot measure called Question 1.
The question reads, “Shall Jackson County, Missouri, levy a tax of five (5) cents per each one hundred (100) dollars assessed valuation for the purpose ...Read more
She was kicked out of the National Honor Society when she got pregnant at 15. For her 80th birthday, she got reinstated
She never forgot the fateful day in 1961 that several classmates showed up at her door to seize her National Honor Society membership and deliver a message: She had been deemed “no longer honorable.”
Joanne Johnson Grimes was 15 and pregnant. School administrators forced her to drop out of Burlington City High School in New Jersey her ...Read more
This bike shop is still going strong at 50 years, outlasting competitors with its 'old school' vibe
CHERRY HILL, N.J. -- At 10 a.m. on any given Tuesday, cyclists begin wheeling their bikes up the ramps behind the Erlton Bike Shop in Cherry Hill, looking for owners Rich Tustin, his son Aaron, or any of their crew as soon as the store opens.
The cyclists need flats repaired, brake pads replaced, derailleurs aligned, and wheels straightened on ...Read more
Millions of aging Americans are facing dementia by themselves
Sociologist Elena Portacolone was taken aback. Many of the older adults in San Francisco she visited at home for a research project were confused when she came to the door. They’d forgotten the appointment or couldn’t remember speaking to her.
It seemed clear they had some type of cognitive impairment. Yet they were living alone.
...Read more
Millions of aging Americans are facing dementia by themselves
Sociologist Elena Portacolone was taken aback. Many of the older adults in San Francisco she visited at home for a research project were confused when she came to the door. They’d forgotten the appointment or couldn’t remember speaking to her.
It seemed clear they had some type of cognitive impairment. Yet they were living alone.
...Read more
This 71-year-old pole dancer defies expectations — and gravity — in age-obsessed LA
LOS ANGELES -- Dressed in 7-inch neon heels and translucent yellow bell-bottoms, Mary Serritella was defying gravity and expectations on a recent Wednesday night at Hollywood's Bourbon Room.
Spinning gracefully around a silver pole to disco medley, she contorted her body into a series of improbable positions with even more improbable names ...Read more
This 71-year-old pole dancer defies expectations -- and gravity -- in age-obsessed LA
LOS ANGELES -- Dressed in 7-inch neon heels and translucent yellow bell-bottoms, Mary Serritella was defying gravity and expectations on a recent Wednesday night at Hollywood's Bourbon Room.
Spinning gracefully around a silver pole to disco medley, she contorted her body into a series of improbable positions with even more improbable names ...Read more
Older men’s connections often wither when they’re on their own
At age 66, South Carolina physician Paul Rousseau decided to retire after tending for decades to the suffering of people who were seriously ill or dying. It was a difficult and emotionally fraught transition.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do, where I was going to go,” he told me, describing a period of crisis that began in 2017.
...Read more
Older men's connections often wither when they're on their own
At age 66, South Carolina physician Paul Rousseau decided to retire after tending for decades to the suffering of people who were seriously ill or dying. It was a difficult and emotionally fraught transition.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do, where I was going to go,” he told me, describing a period of crisis that began in 2017.
...Read more
Study suggests aspirin may help prevent colorectal cancers
From bone to heart health, aspirin has been linked to all kinds of benefits through the years — though many of these benefits have since been debunked. But according to a recent study, the pill may significantly lower colorectal cancer risks.
Published in JAMA Oncology, researchers analyzed data from over 107,000 people who were monitored ...Read more
Middle-aged adults with blocked leg arteries may face high risk of amputation
People in their 50s with severely narrowed leg arteries may face a high risk for major amputations despite having emergency surgery to restore blood flow to their legs, new research shows.
The findings, published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, highlight the need for early detection and treatment of peripheral artery ...Read more
COVID-19 may increase heart attack and stroke risk for years
People infected with the COVID-19 virus in 2020 may have double the risk for future heart attacks, strokes or premature death from any cause up to three years later – even if they never showed signs of severe illness, according to new research. The risk may be considerably higher in people hospitalized for COVID-19 in the first year of the ...Read more
