Sunday, June 22, 2014

Expected but sad

I hopped on the Internet before church to check my e-mail to see if there were any messages. A few days ago, our oldest member (she was 98) had fallen and severely broken her hip and pelvis. The word from the minister - who spoke with her daughter and son-in-law - was that she was not expected to recover.

Yeah, she's gone. It's sad but not unexpected and frankly based on the extent of her injuries, it may be the best outcome at this point.

Also, a member of the choir who just got over a broken shoulder has now broken her arm.

People I know spend a lot of time telling cancer to sod off (or similar and harsher in "American"), but I'm beginning to feel like osteoporosis (a contributing factor in both these cases, and a major factor in my maternal grandmother's disability and eventual death) can also sod off.

One of the reasons I am SO strict about getting regular weight-bearing exercise is that I know I have a huge familial risk of it. (I also try to get enough calcium, and I limit consumption of red meat and sodas - both of which have been implicated as factors that may contribute to it).

I feel sad for C.'s daughter. I know she was close to her mother and this is going to be hard for her.

2 comments:

Jess said...

Your post brought back memories of my mother, and the downhill run, after she broke her hip.

I was shocked, when it happened. Of all the times I worried it would happen, when I wasn't there, she fell from a chair, when I was only a foot away.

The doctor said her hip probably broke before she fell, which offered me no comfort. I felt there had to be something I could have done to prevent her fall.

Osteoporosis can sod off. If its ravages hadn't led to my mother's fall, we might have had a few more years with her.

Charlotte said...

You might want to ask your doctor to do a bone scan to see what the health of your bones is. I'm sorry about your friend but can be comforted by the knowledge her mother had a long life.