Modern Medicine can keep you alive
Machines, medications and man-made parts: modern medicine continues to find and develop life-saving and life-prolonging interventions.
Advancements in heart research include:
- Bypass surgery
- Man-made implantable cardiac devices like pacemakers
When organs fail, there’s dialysis for kidney failure, and transplants for kidney, lung, liver and heart. Cancer continues to be researched, and survival rates and life expectancy has greatly increased. For neurological (brain) illness and injury, medications and interventions are emerging, and rehab helps with increased function. Even infections – which were regularly the cause of death in past generations – are now treated with antibiotics.
However, as the body winds down, so-called ‘Heroic Measures’ may do more harm than intended. CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation) Breathing Machines (ventilators), Feeding tubes and specific medications can be considered Heroic Measures or seem more like Futile Treatment. When making decisions about any of these, it can help to understand the longer-term results and possible complications.
As we age, do we become too thin-skinned?
In a word: Yep. Our skin thins and gets dry Thin, dry skin often gets itchy. And that can lead to a mess of problems. Hence, the expression: thin-skinned. Perhaps not as talked about as the other issues of aging, but should be – considering how much skin we have. Dr...
Multiple Medications: too many for too many of us
By age 65, two thirds of us are taking 5 or more prescription medications a day so reports the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). Not included in that total is the number of times a day meds are taken. And it doesn’t include whatever non-prescription...
Alzheimer’s Caregiver, Daughter-in-law
Tina's story of Alzheimer's: love and understanding I was fortunate enough to walk through a journey of Alzheimer’s by my father-in-law’s side. Together we mastered the mysteries, the fears and the utter atrocity that the disease brings and we also discovered a deep...
Dementia and Alzheimer’s Patients share hope and humour
“I’m 62. I was diagnosed at 46. You do the math” Christine Bryden, Person with Dementia 16 years of living with Alzheimer’s and Christine Bryden’s making the audience of 300 laugh and cry at A Changing Melody: A learning and sharing forum for persons with Early Stage...
