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My grandpa has absolutely skewed my understanding of what a "normal" old person is supposed to be like.
He was performing surgeries himself till he was 80, assisting in them till he was 85, seeing patients in his clinic till he was 91 and the pandemic hit, and now he's 94 and still largely in control of his faculties even as his cognitive functions have obviously declined.
I see a doddering old fool and immediately assume he's something like 90, only to be embarrassed when they're a ripe young age of 75, hard to remember that people mostly end up senile by their late 80s!
I know atleast one person in his seventies that's having to grapple with the idea that someone he grew up with is in a nursing home, while he's still up, spry, active and working.
'Use it or loose it' seems to be a good rule of thumb from what I've seen in old people and who retains their capabilities as they age.
My grandmother declined quickly after my grandfather died. Her father lived to be 101 and was sharp as a tack until the last couple years. She's 90 now and unambiguously senile. Given the timing of her decline, I have to think that if my grandfather has lived she would have kept her mind.
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I wholeheartedly agree, my grandpa was doing great until he was forced to close his clinic and stay home for about 2 years straight due to the pandemic. In hindsight, that was pointless, though I am happy that I realized that quite quickly and requested him to resume seeing patients, but alas, it was largely too late by then. I strongly believe that the cognitive activity kept his wits far longer than otherwise, even as he had to dial it back.
He always took his health very seriously, including a diet and regular exercise, but the human body comes with an expiry date no matter how well you oil it up. I can only hope that the option to outright replace worn out parts arises in his lifetime, since it probably will in mine. At least he's had a long, happy life, which is more than most people can ever say.
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I've seen both. My grandmother was spry, sharp, and leading tourists and boyscout troops on horseback-riding and canoeing trips right up to the morning she died of a stroke at the age of 89. Her husband (my grandad) having succumbed to cancer 20 years prior.
In contrast my next-door neighbors are in their late 60s early 70, but since the pandemic they've stopped going out, stopped taking care of themselves, and I feel like I've watched them age 20+ years in the last 3. And it's depressing because their daughter is a friend and my better-half and I will get phone calls asking if we can do some basic house-hold task or another because they're both too frail now to take out their own trash or work a toilet plunger properly.
My in-laws live with us, and my MIL has basically receded from life since age 75. Very overweight, can't hear very well, in pain all the time, and won't do anything to try to improve the situation. She has inspired me to make sure I never stop moving and thinking. My FIL is a little better because he helps take care of my son and does the cooking, but he could still stand to get out of the house more.
My own parents went into severe hibernation over the pandemic and still haven't come out, but they are at least staying active and taking care of their bodies.
One big difference between the two couples is class: my in-laws are blue-collar while my parents are white-collar. If I were to generalize from this tiny sample, I would say there is more of an expectation among white-collar groups that you will keep your shit together as you get older.
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I largely suspect life is somewhat what you make it at those ages. Faculties seem to operate on a use it or lose it basis. Stay mentally and physically active and you'll be mostly fine. Spend your retirement staring in to the TV and putting down taproots into the sofa from your asshole and you'll decay.
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