People are living longer nowadays. Thanks to a host of factors like advancements in modern medicine and cutting-edge treatments. Also, better health policies, improved hygiene, smarter lifestyle choices, and a constantly growing population.  

‘In 2020, the number of people aged 60 years and older outnumbered children younger than 5 years… By 2050, the world’s population of people aged 60 years and older will double (2.1 billion). The number of persons aged 80 years or older is expected to triple between 2020 and 2050 to reach 426 million[1].

There are enough people I know who want to live long lives. Presumably, in reasonably ‘good’ health into their 80’s, 90’s and 100’s. Good luck to them. I half envy them. I agree a longer life means more time with family and friends, more work/learning opportunities, and more hobbies/travel experiences. I agree no two old people age similarly. Some 80-year-olds may have mental and physical capacities that match 30-year-olds. Some 70-year-olds may experience quicker declines at younger ages.

Growing old worries me. Not in a narcissistic sense; of wrinkles and saggy skin. Although I have plenty of both. Worry in the sense of what I can or cannot do as I age. And, the mounting ailments that accompany aging. Six decades on and I have already noticed a slower and weaker me. My joints creak. The soles of my feet hurt first thing in the morning. Particularly when I get out of bed, and try to walk.  After a bit of fine-tuning/warm-up, I am a little more ready to hobble along. I still jump up and down in the morning but the movements are slower and I am tired a lot quicker.

My ailments are increasing. I started with two. Bad headaches that progressed to migraines, and recurring tummy upsets/pains, diagnosed much later as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). I now have eight. My portfolio includes insomnia, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, haemorrhoids, bronchiectasis, and tinnitus. I continue to have debilitating migraines that only ‘Caffox’ has so far managed to address. ‘Caffox’ is used to treat migraines when painkillers don’t work. For my annoyingly, regular tummy pains that occur when I eat healthy or rubbishy food, I had colonoscopy and endoscopy done that sort of confirmed that it might very likely be IBS.

I don’t sleep enough. My right ear makes buzzing noises, which makes sleep disruptive and even slower in coming.  My finger joints are swollen and painful. It is becoming increasingly difficult to cut fruits, and open jars and bottles. This is my health status in 2023.  Logically, it will gradually deteriorate and/or be debilitating in the next 5, 10 or 15 years. 

‘The major problem with merely increasing life expectancy is that it also increases morbidity simply because people live long enough to get more age-related disease, disability, dementia, and dysfunction. Many serious diseases have increased prevalence with age, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, kidney disease, dementia, arthritis, and osteoporosis[2].

I don’t want to be a septuagenarian (70 – 79 years old), an octogenarian (80 – 89 years old) or God forbid, a nonagenarian (90 – 99 years old). I would much prefer an earlier check-out date while I still don’t own a pill or dosette box for my daily/weekly medicines, and I can look after myself independently. My stark takeaways from caring for my mum is the array of medicines the old girl must ingest, and the loss of independence. She is on lung, heart, kidney, pain, and bowel movement medicines as well as rubs and ointments for pain and itchy/dry skin. She is also hooked on to an oxygenator. All of which help keep her ticking along. Plus, she is reliant on me, Kalyani, brother number 2, and her children for her personal, medical, and financial care.

I love my mum dearly. She is still compos mentis, and is generally a happy soul. But she has expressed regret and sadness, on several occassions, on her current medicine-reliant and care-dependent, vulnerable situation. I wholly understand my mum’s predicament, which adds to my already less than enthused view about growing older than I already am. For me, its not just the ailments and mobility issues. Abilities like memory (mine’s a sieve), sight, hearing (what?), sense of taste, reasoning and conversation/communication will also invariably decline with age. And lets not forget aged care. It’s expensive and not always available, reliable or competent. But, it’s certainly a relevant consideration for older people, with or without children.

Previously, people died young and relatively quickly. Nowadays, increasingly people die old and slowly from degenerative diseases. Preceded by years of multiple illnesses and living for many years.

“…years are being added to our lives, life is not being added to our years: the extra years are being added at the very end of our lives and are of poor quality[3]. So how?