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Modelers Lounge => How's it going? => Topic started by: pepperman42 on May 22, 2022, 11:49:45 PM

Title: This getting old thing....
Post by: pepperman42 on May 22, 2022, 11:49:45 PM
Getting old sure isn't for sissies!! Lets see....after a failed eye surgery I went in for another more invasive procedure - all done with only local anesthetic - in which a surgical tube was implanted to reduce eye pressure. Various drops and pills followed for six weeks with follow up appointments an hour and half from home every week. As of two weeks ago pressure hadn't reduced much so to encourage the process the suture was removed - again with just freezing drops prior to - forceps, tweezers and a hook to remove the stitch. Before starting the doctor said " The eye is very vascular right now" which meant - the initial incision resulted in so much bleeding she couldn't see the suture...didn't matter I passed out.....She had to wait then, when I felt up to it, complete the procedure. Anyone's legs jelly or sqwidgy yet? All of this to maintain about 10% vision in my left eye. To top it off the pills I was taking gave me a kidney stone which had me in pain til I passed it. This Friday coming up - colonoscopy - if it's not one end it's the other.......

Steve
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: KiwiZac on May 23, 2022, 07:17:15 AM
When I turn 35 in August and my wife weeps at how "old" I am, I'll show her this. I really feel for you Steve, what a series of awfulness!
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: Dave W on May 23, 2022, 09:55:16 AM
Steve

If it helps, I cringed when I read your post so your writing rather accurately conveyed how you feel about these procedures.

You have my complete and total sympathy. As one who is also currently a work in progress by various hospital folk practicing medical procedures they learnt on YouTube or Google ( it feels like it some days) I completely sympathise with you.

So I go to the model bench to seek solace in the comfort of starting a new build... and a small part immediately pings off the bench on to the floor, never to be seen again.

best wishes for your recovery!

Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: pepperman42 on May 23, 2022, 10:04:47 AM
Thanks KZ and Dave, that part will reappear when you least expect it.

Steve
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: gbrivio on May 23, 2022, 04:15:28 PM
Wish you all the best for your recovery.
Giuseppe
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: macsporran on May 23, 2022, 06:14:57 PM
You sail along oblivious don't you, until you reach a certain age - and then everything starts to fall to bits. Eyesight, stamina, bladder, muscle tone, sex, indeed anything physical.
As Shakespeare says in the Seven Ages speech-
  - sans eyes, sans teeth, sans everything.
Still it's better than the alternative.
Sandy
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: Rookie on May 23, 2022, 08:04:11 PM
Steve,

I'm sorry to hear about your health problems.

There is a saying: "Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug". There seems to be a lot of "bug" going on in your life right lately.

And especially, when our hobby, that we need to forget all the troubles that we face on a daily basis, is impeded by physical discomforts, it strikes a hard blow.


I wish you well!


Willem
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: lcarroll on May 23, 2022, 11:30:38 PM
    Well Steve, I gotta say your present load of health problems certainly exceeds mine, and I gather from other's comments here I'm no worse off then the rest of the pack! I've frankly been feeling sorry for myself recently, as a good friend once stated, "I'm running short of usable body parts"! Sharing our problems is good therapy such as here, and if nothing else is helpful to ward off depression. I completely agree with Sandy, despite the hassle, pain, and just plain frustration with the inevitable it beats the hell out of the alternative! I lost a very close friend of some 40 years this past Monday and though it hurts I feel very fortunate to be the lucky one, it's all relative.
     These things seem to ebb and flow of their own volition but the intervals between are not so bad. I hope your bad "run" is near finished for a good long time and recovery is fast.
All the best and hang in there!
Cheers,
Lance
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: Bughunter on May 24, 2022, 05:34:44 AM
Steve, all the best for a speedy recovery on this one problem and no new ones on the other side!
With 10% on the eye I guess you lost the 3D view? That is a terrible imagination ...

Cheers,
Frank
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: lone modeller on May 24, 2022, 07:50:04 AM
As my late, (disabled), father used to say: "Old age never comes alone".

Like you Steve, I am beginning to feel my age in all sorts of ways, but so far I have been spared experiences like yours. I hope that things will improve in the near and longer term, and that you will be able to enjoy better health. In the meantime try to follow Dave's advice and enjoy as much as you can of your hobby: at least it will distract you even for short periods.

Stephen.
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: pepperman42 on May 24, 2022, 10:50:15 PM
Thanks all, and yes Frank depth perception has become a challenge. Being left handed and my left eye being the damaged one makes things interesting. Only the other day I was putting a general colour coat on a fairly large part and I was wondering, as I steadied it with my right hand, why the paint wasn't laying down. Oh it was laying down just fine and I have the RLM 76 light blue right thumb nail to prove it. That AK Real paint is tough!!! No more 3D movies and those 3D images in the Fokker Dr1 book are now worthless...all well the rest of the book is awesome...always look on the bright side of life (whistle here)

Steve   
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: DeLano80 on May 29, 2022, 10:21:30 AM
My eyes suck and my hands shake  :'(
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: pepperman42 on June 02, 2022, 11:18:49 PM
A brief update - no kidney damage, clean bill of colon health and the eye pressure is down enough to require only one trip to Toronto a month. Still can't go to fighter pilot school though....unless the bad guys agree to only attack from the right.

Steve
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: Brad Cancian on June 04, 2022, 06:28:47 AM
Hi Steve - getting old is one of those things that I am thankful for - I can say 'at least I made it this far...' (and then adding... 'now I can't get out of this chair...').  My mother had exactly the same eye surgery as you, so I know what you're talking about and how distressing it can be. Great to hear the eye pressure is at least manageable now.

Cheers,

BC
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: bobs_buckles on June 04, 2022, 08:39:14 AM
A brief update - no kidney damage, clean bill of colon health and the eye pressure is down enough to require only one trip to Toronto a month. Still can't go to fighter pilot school though....unless the bad guys agree to only attack from the right.

Steve

That is great news, Steve!
Keep on keeping on  ;)

Bob
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: pepperman42 on June 04, 2022, 08:44:24 AM
Thanks, I'm feeling better every day. Summer weather helps too.

Steve
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: rhwinter on June 04, 2022, 04:10:03 PM
Steve, I am feeling with you - and all of us here! Every now and then parts of my body start to hurt me, but still I am lucky, as either its getting better after a while, or I am getting accustomed to it. What helps me suppressing depression is slipping into good memories, like me as a boy modeling together with two mates of mine (both gone west long ago) on a rainy day, listening to The Beatles from my cassette-recorder and my mother coming down the stairs, inviting us boys to some sandwiches… I then feel good. The only thing I am afraid of is dementia getting me sone day…
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: pepperman42 on June 04, 2022, 10:02:23 PM
Ah yes  - nostalgia aint what it used to be ;) Music plays a big part in my life. Pink Floyd was the band of my youth and then a 180 degree turn to the Pistols and Stranglers (then back again). Music gets me through a lot. My struggle is with life related math - my good friend Ron Lowry, a father figure and mentor, was a fit 72+ years old who suddenly got very ill and was gone before he was 74. The math - I have 11 years....As much as I try to avoid that type of calculation it comes up more and more. All we can do is enjoy the moment I suppose. As I look at our 14 year old cat I kind of envy not knowing your own mortality....k happy thoughts - going to work on a model today!!

Steve
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: ermeio on June 05, 2022, 02:12:45 AM
Sorry to hear about that - all of us are getting old and yes, eyes are one of those parts that are most useful and most prone to fail early.

Have a speedy way back to health
er me
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: Brad Cancian on June 05, 2022, 12:29:09 PM
So I hit the big four-oh last year (ok, it was a big deal for me) and it got me thinking of the same things that rhwinter talks about.

Firstly, I wondered where the last 10 years had gone (certainly not prolifically building models, that's for sure), and secondly, it made me think about the good times I had back in the 90s as a kid just building for fun. I went and searched out and bought a few of the kits that I remember particularly fondly. Some I remember building with (likewise) a good friend of mine. I now have these kits out on display in my nerd-cave. I did the same with some of the modelling magazines I used to own. I see them and indeed it reminds me of simpler times. It makes me feel good.

So I know that even when my hands fail, or my eyesight diminishes, that i'll at least still be able to look at or think of these things, and reflect on how much models and the act of simply creating something has been so rewarding over my lifetime.

Now, time to just sit in the nerd-cave and reflect...  ;D

(PS - if you want to see some of the things I am talking about that are particularly special to me, see here - https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11373.0)

Cheers,

BC 
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: KiwiZac on June 07, 2022, 06:51:42 AM
Great news Steve! I'm so pleased for you!

Still can't go to fighter pilot school though....unless the bad guys agree to only attack from the right.
Get into flying warbirds and they'll make that happen  8)
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: lcarroll on June 08, 2022, 12:02:51 PM
Steve,
    IIRC you were a ground Controller at Pearson? If that's the case the Fighter Pilot School you mention would be a breeze! ( and you're right, they always come from the right!) Hang in there and believe me when I say "you ain't done yet!" I have a really good friend here who used to fly 104's and had a stroke 8 years back, he never stopped modelling despite the unremarkable results and last weekend had a sneezing fit after which he realized he had recovered feeling in his right leg and hand after all of that time ...... never give up!

Cheers,
Lance



A brief update - no kidney damage, clean bill of colon health and the eye pressure is down enough to require only one trip to Toronto a month. Still can't go to fighter pilot school though....unless the bad guys agree to only attack from the right.

Steve
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: pepperman42 on June 09, 2022, 06:44:43 AM
Wow!! I'm going to start sneezing!!

Steve
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: WD on June 12, 2022, 06:39:23 AM
Steve,
          Just now saw this and I want to extend my sympathies. I hit 61 this year, and I'm really feeling it, especially in my teaching field (teaching kids how to operate heavy equipment). I hope things continue to improve for you. You're right, getting old isn't for sissies.

WD
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: Rookie on June 13, 2022, 12:59:04 AM
I turned 62 in January, but sometimes I feel like 82.

I work in a service department for healthcare workers. They can call with problems about programs, iPads, smartphones, printers. The average age of my colleagues is 31. I spend most of the day on the phone. People are constantly queuing, so there is never a moment of rest. Every day I run into the fact that I can't keep up with technical developments. It's all getting too complicated for me, everything has to be done quickly and it's very busy.

If all goes well, I will soon have a new position within the same company with less stress and colleagues my own age.

Due to a late diagnosis of neglected bronchitis, I am now a COPD patient. I suffer from atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure and I wear hearing aids. Luckily my eyes don't bother me much. I've had the same perscription for my lenses for years.

Some days I suffer from osteoarthritis more than other days, but it is especially annoying in the fingers.

I consider myself lucky that I can still use them though  :D

In March 2021 I contracted Covid 19. Although I have not been very ill in that time, I still experience the consequences in the form of Long COVID. It affects my stamina, memory and concentration. But those are also things you learn to live with.
Unfortunately, my wife Karin suffered a stroke in October 2021, which has turned our world upside down again. Fortunately she is back home and can handle herself well if I work at the office 2 days a week, but she still needs a lot of help with certain things. She is paralyzed on the left side, but she can walk short distances with aids. Unfortunately she can no longer use her arm, but she manages well and is admirably positive.

So, I am now a provider, carer and maid. I actually have three jobs, pity I just get payed for one...  ;)

I have to keep a lot of balls in the air, but I get used to that too. The only thing is that some nights I am so tired, a fall asleep on the couch at 9.

With all that is going on in the world around us, I sometimes feel the need to retreat to my man cave, where I keep my 80's stereo set (still working brilliantly by the way), old vinyl records, my cd's, my books, modeling tools and kit stash.

Surrounded by good memories and listening to the music that I played as a dj from my 22nd to my 26th. It was the age of punk, new wave and synthesizer music. I still have most of it on vinyl, mostly on 12” singles. Simpleminds, U2, Ultravox, XTC (the band), New Order, but also Randy Newman, Ry Cooder and Tod Rundgren. Indeed, from present day's perspective, everything was simple.

In that respect I am completely emphatic to what Brad posted.

To sum it all up, although our health is not 100%, we are (mostly) in good spirits, and we enjoy every day we can spend together. We just keep plodding on, one day at the time.

Sometimes you're the bug and sometimes you're the windshield.

Chest out, chin up!

Willem
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: KiwiZac on June 13, 2022, 07:53:04 AM
To sum it all up, although our health is not 100%, we are (mostly) in good spirits, and we enjoy every day we can spend together. We just keep plodding on, one day at the time.

Sometimes you're the bug and sometimes you're the windshield.
That sums it all up rather nicely  :)
Title: Re: This getting old thing....
Post by: pepperman42 on June 13, 2022, 09:59:02 AM
Hang in Rookie!!  I will too. No need to mention its XTC the band, Andy Partridge and company have long been a favourite - smart lyrics!!

Steve