Connect
← Return to Sadness over diagnosis
Discussion
Comment receiving replies
@catmom777. Hi cat mom, I desperately wanted to talk to you! I am in the same situation! I am 61, unmarried, no children. I just found out I have afib, had severe cellulitis and lymphedema in my rt leg, and had to go on oxygen. I spent a month in a rehab hospital, just getting out a week ago. I take Xarelto, I had a pulmonary embolism. I worry constantly about what will happen to me if something happens to my only sibling, a brother. I will have nowhere to go-will I have to go into a nursing home? We live together and I know I should live elsewhere but I can’t. I can’t abide living alone. He treats me like i am inferior and is constantly angry with me-constantly. Yet he buys me stuff and if I ask him to do something, he will-begrudgingly. He’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Anyway, I saw me in your writing. I have no friends here-I just moved here. So no one came to see me while I was in the hospital-except Rick who works 15 minutes away and only came once a week. I wish I could exercise outside, but there is a ramp to the parking lot and I don’t feel safe on it alone; therefore, I can’t drive myself anywhere. So what’s left is YouTube exercises. I can do those-until my oxygen goes down. I’ve concluded that the best thing to do is stop worrying about the future. My PCP gets mad at me for seeing a pain specialist and taking opioids. She looks me in the face and says “I hate opioids”. She hates that I get anti anxiety medicine from my psychiatrist. But these meds help me cope and stop focusing on my pain and anxiety! So cat mom, I didn’t mean to write so much about myself! It just felt good to have someone who probably understood me. Please let me hear from you.....ironic but I am a dog mom!.......Karen
Replies to "@catmom777. Hi cat mom, I desperately wanted to talk to you! I am in the same..."
Yes, we are in the same boat. I live alone, but that's not too good either with the health issues I have. I agree with Karen. If you can find a way to get to a senior center I think it would give you a lot of the support you need. Here we have a shuttle run by the bus company which picks people up and takes them to places like the senior center. I believe our senior center also has a small gym. I know they have some exercise classes because I've seen them advertised in a circular. It really sounds like you need to get out. It will be hard with the oxygen, but maybe try it just once if you can and see if it's doable.
Life is hard for both of us, but I've seen people get through worse. I have a friend back in the town I used to live in who has bad gout, has to use a walker, is always broke because her social security isn't enough, and she has a son with schizophrenia. She is a lovely person. Somehow though she makes it to church every Sunday.
Call your local Aging Commission. They can put you in touch with all kinds of services. It's a federally funded agency that as far as I know is in every state. Even the small town where my mother lives has a senior help agency and there are only 7,000 people in that town. She takes a shuttle to and from her doctor and dentist appointments and they can even take her to the store.
I hope you can find a way to make your life a little better.
Connect
@karen00 hi Karen, I have heard of places like “adult day care” that pick the person up, bring them to a social center, and bring them home at the end of the day. I think you can do it for whatever number of days a week you want. Would something like that help?
My sister who has no health or physical problems, goes to a senior center once a week and really enjoys it. She drives but I think many of those too have pickup service. Some play games, they have tailored exercise classes, and she has made new friends there.
JK