Coping with age & serious illness. Anyone positive want to share?

@gingerw I am very sorry.to hear about all the things you have to deal w every second of the fay. I will pray for uou.
When so many things are going wrong, how do you find quality of life, happiness.or joy?
Please guide this 75 yr old w cancer and contractor's from make stroke.
Thanks Ginger. I love the name Ginger.
W regards,
VJ

@vijay26 Gosh, thank you so much. Sincerely, I believe what I was handed in life has made me stronger, and understanding how to make the best of any situation. There are so many of us who feel we are alone [me, included!] so we reach out to offer a shoulder, or helping hand of support. For me, being able to express myself in writing, or art, or fabric, gives me joy. Being able to help others in different ways that means something to them, helps them feel less alone, and helps me feel needed.

While there is no way I could hold down a job now, I can do things in chunks of time. There is a local group I am bookkeeper for, another I am secretary for, volunteer each week at our local food pantry, and am an elected official serving on city council. All of these utilize my skillsets from decades of experience, so they are not forgotten/wasted. Is it an effort? Yes, indeed. However, the rewards are incredible, and hopefully my actions can serve as inspiration to others.
Ginger

Thank you for sharing. I have also struggled with bipolar disorder my whole life, but it was misdiagnosed as depression. I am 60 years old and married, but I would like to make some new friends. I’m a bit introverted and often get nervous around new people so it’s hard. What social groups did you join to meet new people?

Thank you for sharing. I have also struggled with bipolar disorder my whole life, but it was misdiagnosed as depression. I am 60 years old and married, but I would like to make some new friends. I’m a bit introverted and often get nervous around new people so it’s hard. What social groups did you join to meet new people?

@bewildered
Have you heard of Silent Book Club, where people get together at a local coffee shop or other venue with their current book? No pressure to talk or present. It just helps you mix with like-minded people who love to read.

@rollingf
I understand that Voluntary Assisted Death is a controversial issue. In Australia it is legal, but it is very much an intimate, personal choice. My university- days boyfriend, Allan, battled melanoma on his brain for months, and had several neurosurgeries to try to remove the cancer and a large blood clot on his brain. He never regained consciousness. His loving wife and children took him home, told that he would never recover brain function because of the damage done. He remained in a coma, unconscious for THREE MONTHS. His wife was by his side 24/7, trying to feed him through a tube, and changing his diapers. He had to be turned on his side in the bed every two hours, to avoid bed sores, so someone had to be in attendance on him constantly. In Australia we also have available what we call an Advanced Care Directive, just like a kind of will. It is a legally binding document which many people sign while they are young and healthy, listing the circumstances under which they would want to
withdraw medical treatment (such as ventilators or even CPR). I have signed an Advanced Care Directive, stating that if there is no chance of me recovering quality of life (which I spelt out in detail) I do not want to be put on a ventilator or maintained in an indefinite coma just because my body is "alive". I know various cultures have religious objections to these kinds of arrangements, and I believe it is ultimately a very difficult and personal choice. I know what the end stage of ALS looks like. I know my fate is to deteriorate like that. But I don't want to be unable to swallow or talk, paralyzed and unable to breathe: at some stage I want to say "this is enough, I can't cope like this any more, and I don't want my family to have to care for me for months while I am a vegetable in bed." In Australia I have the option of choosing the way I die, in peace, and that is what I want to do. I know that this is a very controversial and upsetting kind of discussion to have, and I thoroughly respect people who choose to live through the worst and put up with agony, but I believe we should have a CHOICE which patients and their families agree on so that everyone can die with dignity. No-one is going to force withdrawel of medical treatment or assisted death on anyone - to me it is a matter of individual choice, and I am glad that now all Australian states support this legistation. I know I will stir up a hornet's nest with this post, but that is how I feel, I who only have an average of 26 months to live.

@jorenee
Dear Jorenee, I can emphasize with your experiences of bipolar disease and serious illness. I have had bipolar since I was a teenager, but was not diagnosed until in my 40s. My life had been a roller coaster ride of mania and depression, but I have now been with the same psychiatrist for 20 years, and after many, many different medications and several stays in psychiatric hospitals I have finally been pretty stable for about 5 years. I still take medications, but I am on safe ground now, and am trying to fully enjoy life, especially since I was diagnosed with ALS last year and use a ventilator at night. Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair. My mother is still with us, at the age of 96, and has never had a serious illness in her life! Amazing, as she lived through war-torn Europe in WW2 and came here to Australia as a refugee! You have a lot to deal with, but please try to look up, not down. I am sure there are things in life you can still enjoy, even if that is just a cup of coffee and a chat with a friend. We are all in this thing called 'life' together, and I want to let you know that there is someone in Australia who has read your post and is thinking of you and sending you good vibes.
@ellu

I’m close to your age and my husband just had open heart surgery and anxiety has pretty much taken over my life. I have health issues and my anxiety has made things worse. How do you stay positive when there are so
Many challenges?