Just One More

 

Pic: Doss on top of the Maeda Escarpment, May 4, 1945

I have spent a portion of my adult life, volunteering and generally trying to improve the lives of those less fortunate than myself. Some of my time has been very rewarding, and a little of it a waste of my life.

I had a slight downside though. One June 29 202X, on a Thursday, I woke up feeling like someone pounded my hips and shoulders with a sledge hammer. The pain became so bad, I resorted to CBD Cream, which was a literal lifesaver. I never wish that much pain on anyone. It took almost five months before I felt relatively pain free. Turns out it was a reaction to a common medication.

During those days of pain, and today, as I reflect on my day and pray before sleep, I stole a a line from Desmond Doss: "Just one more." Desmond Doss was awarded the Medal Of Honor for Bravery. He did not carry a weapon, Desmond Doss was a medic in World War II. You can read about Desmond Doss here, or if you can find it, watch the movie, Hacksaw Ridge.

Not that I will ever be on the the same level as Desmond Doss, though many nights I go to sleep thinking there must be something good I can do for another person. I find many things are easy to do. Smile and say hello, Hold the door open for someone, pick up some trash on the ground and put it in a waste can, by toys from the second hand store and leave it on a kid's doorstep whose family's money has bigger priorities. 

I leave bags of food and such in front of the local church where people more needy than myself walk by. I put a not inside, urging them to spend a few minutes with a quiet mind and listen for the voice of God to speak to them. It takes some time to do this, because it takes time to learn how to quiet our mind. What you hear (for me at least) is the impression of a word or two, not a sentence. I hope they do better.

I hope all these little things add up, and I manage to make someone's day better. Telling a young Mom, she is Mother of the month because she takes time for her child no matter where she is at. Thank a Vet for his service, acknowledging the importance of his/her contribution.  The idea of making someones day a little better, because someone helped them, acknowledged them, or fed them for a few days may encourage them to pass it on, and think, "Just one more"...

Safe Pain Relief Post Statin's

 I am not a Doctor, and this is not medical advice. It is a story about myself and severe head to toe pain. It ends with how I found resolution. Perhaps if you are one of the many older adults experiencing muscle and joint pain you write off to being, "old", this may lead you to search for new ideas and less pain.

For me, it started more than a decade ago with a family of medicines generally known as Statins. There were four different Statins that I was aware of. This may have changed by now. The first Statin I was prescribed made me almost immediately sick with an upset stomach and cramping.

I was given a second Statin. This second Statin lasted two days before the same ending took place. Ditto for the third. The final Statin had a lifespan in my body of over a decade. The supplement COQ10 was also suggested for muscle and joint pain relief from Statins, which at the time I did not seem have, but I took it as a precaution. 

Everything was good until it was not. My newest Doctor did not like the COQ10 formula and another supplement I was taking recommended years earlier by a former doctor, and I was sent to a supplement specialist Doctor.

This Doctor pointed out two of the supplements I was taking were unhealthy for me and other many people in general. They specifically said the COQ10 I was taking had Vitamin e as its carrier oil. COQ10 is absorbed better with fat at the time of taking. Vitamin e, is now thought not to be so healthy for people with a good diet.

I found the brand of COQ10 they suggested. It had no oil, and the recommended dose was 100 milligrams a day. After the first bottle ran out, I quit as it seemed to be doing nothing. Life went on as normal for a year or so until I woke in severe, (months long) muscle and joint pain.

It took two months of Doctors research and opinion, for a determination to be made: I am allergic to Statins and can no longer take them. Within a few weeks, I had less pain. That was not little enough pain to be excited about, but I thought I could live with it. As time went by, the pain continued, and my hands started hurting, both joint and muscle.

It was getting difficult to make a fist, as I noticed my hands swelling for no reason. Every day all major muscles in my body felt as if I had done a serious whole body work out the day before. Everything hurt, and no matter the day, the feeling was the same.

I needed and wanted pain relief. I thought about my time with Statins long and hard and my prior Doctor who had suggested I take COQ10 which didn't seem to do much of anything. I decided to start reading again about COQ10 as years had now passed and knowledge grows. 

I now read COQ10 is an antioxidant. It is made by almost every cell in our body. However some people )as we age) need more than our bodies produce. A safe dose is thought to be up to 1200 mg daily per my reading (not fact). That was a lot higher than the 100 mg a day I was taking.

I went out and found a bottle of COQ10 that had no vitamin e (also called wheat oil). The first day I took 800 mgs. The next day I woke up and some muscles did not hurt as bad. Rinse and repeat. The pain was going away, and my muscles now feel like they are waking from a long sleep. In the moment 800 mgs of COQ10 is working for me.

Whether my pain is from so many years of Statins wreaking havoc on my body, or another unknown cause (age?), COQ10 seems to be the magic bullet for pain reduction and relief. All my pain has diminished to very minor with more improvement every day.

I don't know where the line is drawn for pain reduction, but such a common supplement is doing wonders for me.

Little Things We Take For Granted - Like Grief and Selfishness

 

I turn my phone's ringer off at night. I figure if anyone calls me early, it's not going to be good news, and there is little I can do about any bad news except listen.

Today was one of those bad news days. There was a missed call from a neighbor. I called back and there was no answer. They called back an hour or so later, and told me another neighbor, who is my closest neighbor as a friend was taken away by ambulance this morning. It was their understanding from what they heard and thought they saw, that my friend/neighbor passed.

Can you say, sledge hammer? That's how it felt. I knew this neighbors health was not the greatest, they were having some serious issues, but I spoke with them two nights earlier and they looked healthier than they had in a long while.

My first thought was what do I do? What in 2026 do we do when we get news like this? I went outside, and the neighbor in question's house had the front room curtains closed, no lights on, and their car in the driveway.

As I went over possibilities. This is what I decided. My neighbor really did pass because the house is closed up, and no one is home. The widowed spouse has family in town, so the spouse is with family somewhere in town, in mourning. I have no idea what to do....

By late afternoon, I decided sending a text message to my friend was the best I could do an unobtrusive way to get involved. 

I worded it as carefully as I could in the moment. ...I heard there was an ambulance at your house this morning. That is not good news. If you need anything, a ride, help with your flowers, your pets, or a ride, please let me know....I did not expect a quick answer.

Within a few minutes, I received a text reply from my friend/neighbor telling me they were okay. They had a problem recurrence and decided the best thing to do was an ambulance ride to the hospital. They were released in the afternoon, and are at home on bed rest.

How do you spell relief? I spell it with that reply text!

At my age, and a male, real friends are few and far between. I always felt honored by having this person so close to me in the neighborhood. We trade comments on cats and other animals, and talk about those things only old people find interesting.

Before the reply text, I was worried about the spouse, the probable future sale of their house, and how to pay proper respect to my friend and his spouse in the passing.

I also selfishly felt sad for myself. One less friend to share minor parts of my life with. It was feeling like a gap that was only going to get wider had happened. Another one bites the dust...

Going forward, I know now, our time is limited. But even though the conversations won't change, I believe we both will have them with a little more after thought reverence, if you know what I mean. We have both lived long enough that tomorrow is no guarantee.

It is so odd, years ago, there was no doubt how things were done in this and other serious situations. Today, it is not as clear what to do and how to do it.