What are your tips for staying independent at your own home?

I read with interest all the comments. The one thing I know that worked for me was being active many years ago. In my 40's I discovered race walking. I did this every day after work. I kept at it until I retired at the age of 67. At that time we were both retired and moved out of the area. I did not have access to a track, so I became a street walker (little joke there). I am now 90 years old! It's hard for me to believe I am that old. But I sincerely believe that all that exercise is why at my age I have no major illnesses causing me to take numerous drugs; why I have no signs of dementia; and why I can live independently. Unhappily my husband died three years ago after 62 years together. It has been tough. Another thing I did was to actually visit a couple of facilities to see what "living independently" was like. I was not impressed. The so-called apartments were extremely small and I would not be able to take very many of my things with me. So my choice is to stay in my home and when and if I need help, I will have home help.

Hi Marilyn,
You make a lot of sense in what you say about keeping active! I don't do any fast walking but I do take heavy garbage down to the dumpster, clean the house, work in my flower gardens and prune shrubs etc. I noticed it makes a difference. I saw my doctor 2 weeks ago and he said I was so healthy that he didn't need to see me again for a year!

I'm so sorry about your husband dying. But wasn't it nice that you had 62 years together! And, I'm sure you know that he's up in Heaven with God and Jesus and the two of you will be together again eventually. My husband of 30 years died last July. You are right. It is difficult but knowing that he is also in Heaven and we'll eventually be together helps.

I want to stay in my home also. It's home and I have everything the way I want it. My husband was very talented in fixing and creating things in our home. He redid the outside steps so they were an easier height for us as we aged and it does make a difference. He re-wired parts of the house to save money, fixed anything that broke, framed in all our new windows etc. I don't want to give all that up for a small apartment.

You are doing great at 90! I'm 78 and hope I do as well as you when I'm 90.
I wish you the best.
PML

My neuropathy does not allow me to walk too far because of that I have to go to the YMCA and use the bike or the pool

Thank you for your good wishes. I wish the same for you. Again, I believe that if you keep moving, you keep living.

I will repeat something I feel is extremely important:

--Install grab bars every place where you might possibly need them!--

Don't wait for falls to tell you where you need grab bars, install them now, and don't worry if you've gone a little over the top. When you need one, it will be an emergency. It needs to be there.

I'm saying this because it looks like my vertigo spells will be chronic. So far only when I arise from bed. They go away in a minute or so, but they are severe enough to cause a fall.
Fortunately I have grab bars and a strong bed frame along the route to the bathroom, and extra bars and rails along the stairs. Without them I would have had a fall by now.

Fall prevention is always proactive! Don't wait to find out you need them.

You are so right! My husband installed grab bars in the shower. They are so handy to keep you from falling! Especially when the wash cloth falls down onto the floor of the shower! No cute throw rugs or mats in the house. People are going more to hardwood floors these days but if you do fall, carpeting is easier on your body. We also have railings on our outside porch steps.
Thanks for the topic!
PML

Keep yourself strong! It's so sad to see older women struggling to unload a bag of groceries from their shopping cart into their car so it's important to take care of yourself physically. There are free exercise videos online and also free classes at your local senior citizen center. Start with light weights and build up your strength.

Thanks. I’ve been without balance since 2007. Why’s? On personal request ONlY! Private message me. I want to HELP and I’m about Deaf . Folks on here have helped me so much Tom

Hello @oldflathead - I removed your email and phone number. Mayo Clinic Connect is a public website and we wanted to protect our members' privacy from potential spammers or bad actors. We encourage members to use the Private Message function to share information.

Ok