Now wouldn’t that be a great discovery? Everyone seems to be searching like Ponce DeLeon (who never found it!) What? It’s right down the street with a big sign over the park can’t miss it. Pay the fee, taste the yucky sulfur water, explore the park for yourself (fascinate at the white peacocks that roam). Lovely, and a walk in nature always recommended therapy, but expect rejuvenation? Nope.
You have noticed the constant search by seniors (parents or friends) for the magic potion- perhaps found in weight loss drugs, facial injectables, surgical reconstructions. But reversal of time will elude us, just as it did Ponce in 1513 when he was the first European to reach the “La Florida” coast. (almost 4000 years after the Timucua Natives).
The wishful thinking ratchets up when dealing with the added insult of a life threatening situation. “Doc, I always wanted to look younger, now I just want to be strong and healthy.” Sweet Sally is battling biliary tract cancer found when her eyes and skin turned jaundice. She has not lost her sense of humor. “I used to want whiter teeth now it’s whiter eyes!” She quips to protect her loving son who came home from college to care for her.
In a gym class this week, Kathy asked, “Joanne, what is up with everybody having problems?” One has gel shots in the knees, another spinal injections, Barbara says, “Ha! I was going for botox, but instead I am having a breast biopsy!” Implants are now for cardiac, diabetes, sleep apnea. Others are either going to or taking someone for chemo and radiation. The sought after youthfulness has morphed into a search for real health.
This “4th quarter” scenario fills conversations, phone calls, hours with doctors and tests, and modifies every single thing we do now. It is ok. We are living longer than ever before, the medical improvements are logarithmically improving for cancer to heart to Alzheimers. While we know breakthroughs are happening, and so very many on the horizon, we can’t sit by and wait for them.
Every bit of “tweaking’ you do to stay healthy, including walking, exercising, taking medications, getting screened , receiving therapy, seeing friends and family, eating healthy, drinking less, is creating your very own youthful search. Do not become discouraged as the scourge of senior-hood advances. Take heart in the anticipation that today you can have happy moments. That you can reach out and help another. That you may have retired to find your time consumed by healthcare, but you can manage without impacting your children’s lives. That every effort you make toward your own wellness has its own trickle down to so many others who love you.
No fountain or healing water can do what you can for yourself. No magical thinking or expensive supplement is necessary. Just your own effort, attention, finding good care, getting up and somedays simply putting one foot forward. Ponce could have stayed in Spain, enjoying his friends and family, exploring each day and he would have realized the healing treasure was always within.