We all have heard the terms "the new 40's" or "the new 50's" and the like. In a lot of ways these terms are accurate and reflect the changes in lifestyles, technology and medical advances. But from time to time you come to face with reality that you are getting older and you have to try harder to stay ahead of Father Time.
I came face to face with this reality a couple of weekends ago when hiking on the Pinhoti Trail just north of Mt. Cheaha. As I related in an earlier post I was stricken with a case of heat exhaustion on a warm but not necessarily hot day in Alabama. Surely something must have been wrong with me to have such a hard time. Certainly it could not have been anything that I did or did not do on that day to cause me such stress.
Well, off to see Dr. Rene to find out what malady has stricken my body. Surely all my arteries must have been blocked or I had malaria or some esoteric jungle disease. Dr. Rene took the mandatory blood samples and then sent me off to see the cardiologist and a nuclear stress test disguised in the name of cardiolite stress test. Thursday morning I showed up at this fancy health club on Highway 119 operated by St. Vincent's Hospital. There were three other people taking the test that morning and they were all older and fatter than I. I am of course rationalizing that some mistake had been made putting me with such an unhealthy group.
When my turn came after being prepped with some sort of radioactive isotope, I hopped up on the treadmill and performed for the technician. She gave me the same comment that most nurses and doctors give me-"Did you know that your heart rate is low?" Every medical person since my early teens have made the same comment. "Yes, I do know that and should I be concerned?"
Well, the test went very well and I was told that I am in very good physical shape and my heart and plumbing is doing well. It was obvious that they are not "Dr. House" who surely would have diagnosed me with some sort of dengue fever or a bite of the African Tse-Tse fly.
But since this did not happen I guess I will face the real issue and that is I am getting older and must put in more work that my younger counterparts just to be able to have a comparable result as they. So the effort must be continual or I will digress into not being able to do what I want to do. Even though the 60's are now the new 50's, I have concluded that to be general statement and not a complete truth. We baby boomers are going to have to continue to work harder to accomplish what we used to be able to do in our sleep.
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