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

Hello Hellu,
My name is Joseph (Jofree) and thank you for writing this sharing. I am 80 years walking this earth and we, my wife Cecilia and went through to the other side of 3 years with Colon Cancer, radiation and chemotherapy; still cancer free. We then faced 2 additional years back at the Mayo (Jacksonville) for radiation enteritis, blockages. We faced a permanent colostomy, and because of the effects from several surgeries and the radiation, our physical lives all but ceased. That was in 1999. We decided to make the best of our lives together because each other was all either of had. Well, we were always avid bike riders, our 4children are grown and live away, when we started falling off our two wheel bikes we moved on to three wheeled recumbent, with 24 inch tires. East to ride, get in and out of; Our two wheeled bikes had odometers and we put over 7,468 miles on them, Currently, the mileage on our recumbents is 2,789 miles. We ride and volunteer at various locations in our country town, weather permitting about 100 miles per. I also have neuropathy in my legs but in that seat, I am 21 years old. I use two canes I made to travel wherever we go someplace and I have not fallen that far.
I can't imagine the pain and challenges you have face alone and here you are helping others. Thank you immensely for your courage and strength to reach out to others. Your an amazing individual.
Sincerely, Jofree

Ms. Ellu,
I am so sorry for not rereading my missive before I sent it: I misspelled your name accidently, Keep doing and doing.
Jofree

@ellu Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I am sure there will be several members join in on this conversation! So many of us have chronic conditions or illnesses, and we have a wide variety of coping tools. I have always figured if one thing might not work, try something else, but keep trying at any cost. And here on Connect, we get to share with each other, another big plus!
Ginger

@jofree
Thank you for your amazing story, I lived for some years in Japan, and a friend who has studied
calligraphy made me an ink painting of four Japanese characters. It is an old Japanese saying which is hard to translate, but roughly it says "One Life, Just Once" or maybe "One Life, One Chance". It is wonderful that you and your wife are not just vegetating and bitter after your experiences, but still see your lives as a challenge, and you make your own enjoyment. It was really heartening to read your words, and I hope things continue to go well for you.
Kind regards, Ellu

@ellu
Hello Ellu,
What a kind reply to my writing: And so very interesting about your time in Japan. I spent the better part of the 80's in South America and I too, was so amazed at the resiliency of many of the villagers we came in contact with. It seems that other foreign populations have a deeper understanding and appreciation for life than some folks in the US. I guess when folks strive for daily existences, they become more appreciative of the little things that others take for granted.
Keep on going Ellu and keep spreading your kindness and appreciation for life. You also have helped us with your enthusiasm. Write anytime.
Best to you, Jo free

Ellu,

I am an 83--soon to be 84--male. My wife died over ten years ago and I am still searching for MS Right or Very Close! My comfortis I now have a Black Lab who was trained as a service dog. The lady who owned before me had to move into assisted living and my previous was 21 and in intense pain.

I live in a rural area northwest of Rochester for over 50 years. My wife died of ALS and our second daughter became her care giver, now she is trying to be mine. She and I seem to take turns frustrating each other. But in fact, she does my driving for me. I have certain days that are "Me Days" when I get a hair cut and a massage. We have joined 125 Live for exercise 3 days a week of muscle work for 90 minutes.

We used to have some horses and six children, cats and dogs. Love to chat with you, email or live, my favorite topics are history and math. Especially USA history with dash of World history! I write a weekly opinion column in my local newspaper (News-Record) occasionally trying to stir up some excitement in people.

Jan (When I was born Jan was definitely a Boy's name (Jan Murray--MC and Jan Zimmerman--Opera Star) and then the girls got a hold on it by shorting Janet and Janis to Jan.

Chat soon,

I messed up my comment. see what I wrote in the next comment.

I posted a comment a while ago about ageing and serious illness (hi @arollingf). I am 72, have had pipolar disotrder since my teens, and have recently been diagnosed with ALS. At the moment I am quite well - I am in the early stages of ALS and my bipolar disorder is well under control with medication. And I am getting older. It is hard to work out sometimes whether my odd symptoms are because of my two illnesses or simply because of old
age. Should I fight like a tiger, or simply accept that I am no longer the enthusiastic, active person I was when I was 40? My future is so unpredictable it is hard to plan for anything mor than a month in advance. I live from day to day. I still see family and friends and go out for meals, concerts and plays, but with a limited lifespan it is hard to prioritize how to spend the precious time I have left. I don't want to be an Old Lady watching television all day, but if I exert myself too much I end up exhausted. So I have a triple whammy to deal with (my late husband died 5 years ago). Anyone have any comments or suggestions for me? Anyone else dealing with multiple issues at once? I will conclude by wishing evryone a joyous Christmas, and good halth and much happiness in the New Year.
Ellu

@rollingf My husband has Parkinson’s and I fear he is moving into the next phase-where he needs more help with day to day living and methods to prevent falls. We are considering a service dog, but it’s a big commitment. We’re in our mid seventies so this animal would be with us (or one of us) for the rest of our lives. Conflicted.

Cindy

@ellu

So, at 77, I feel as though I am a juggler and the balls are osteoporosis, high blood pressure, low thyroid function and more. I know I can't keep all of these balls airborne but which one is going to hit the ground.