Rocking and Rollatoring
Feb. 5th, 2024 01:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kathleen_daileyThis has been a half-year of aging-related changes for the spouse.
1. First came the hearing aids. The spouse was an audio engineer for the whole of his working life--a production mixer on features and docs and a post-production audio specialist. Is it any wonder that his hearing was fucked? After prolonged denial--I think it was painful for him to admit that the body parts he'd relied on for his livelihood were severely compromised--he was finally persuaded by the doctor's insistence that hearing aids were an important part of delaying cognitive decline. Now that he has them, he LOVES them. His audiologist is amazed that he's wearing them a minimum of 15 hours a day, and I am fighting a continuing battle to keep the words "I told you so" from passing my lips.
2. Next, he acquired a Rollator. He reports that he's glad to be able to glance around at the scenery while walking: before the arrival of the Rollator, he had to keep himself entirely focused on where and how he was walking, because his gait has gotten more unsteady over the last couple of years. Rollatoring in typical Toronto winters (if they ever happen again) is going to take some getting used to, but fortunately the area is full of office buildings and condos whose caretakers are usually pretty good about clearing and salting sidewalks. We'll see ...
3. Finally, we had grab bars installed in the walk-in shower in the principal bathroom. (Evidently balance issues go along with gait problems.) I'd been a little afraid that they'd evoke images of hospital lavatories, but they're actually not too intrusive.
His OT is kind of amazed at his degree of compliance--apparently many elders (especially males, she says) brush her off with promises of "I'll get to it" and "Yeah, soon." Gold star to the spouse for cooperating! Me, I'm relieved that he's doing what's necessary to maintain his quality of life (and, by extension, mine).
1. First came the hearing aids. The spouse was an audio engineer for the whole of his working life--a production mixer on features and docs and a post-production audio specialist. Is it any wonder that his hearing was fucked? After prolonged denial--I think it was painful for him to admit that the body parts he'd relied on for his livelihood were severely compromised--he was finally persuaded by the doctor's insistence that hearing aids were an important part of delaying cognitive decline. Now that he has them, he LOVES them. His audiologist is amazed that he's wearing them a minimum of 15 hours a day, and I am fighting a continuing battle to keep the words "I told you so" from passing my lips.
2. Next, he acquired a Rollator. He reports that he's glad to be able to glance around at the scenery while walking: before the arrival of the Rollator, he had to keep himself entirely focused on where and how he was walking, because his gait has gotten more unsteady over the last couple of years. Rollatoring in typical Toronto winters (if they ever happen again) is going to take some getting used to, but fortunately the area is full of office buildings and condos whose caretakers are usually pretty good about clearing and salting sidewalks. We'll see ...
3. Finally, we had grab bars installed in the walk-in shower in the principal bathroom. (Evidently balance issues go along with gait problems.) I'd been a little afraid that they'd evoke images of hospital lavatories, but they're actually not too intrusive.
His OT is kind of amazed at his degree of compliance--apparently many elders (especially males, she says) brush her off with promises of "I'll get to it" and "Yeah, soon." Gold star to the spouse for cooperating! Me, I'm relieved that he's doing what's necessary to maintain his quality of life (and, by extension, mine).
no subject
Date: 2024-02-05 10:02 pm (UTC)FWIW Rollators will go over ice ok, if bumpily, and snow up to 2-3 inches. It's probably even easier if you don't have arthritic elbows
no subject
Date: 2024-02-05 11:37 pm (UTC)