Gradual decline in the elderly

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I thought it might be an idea to write down the changes I perceive as I grow older. Some are clearly noticeable and others pass by so gradually that they are hardly remarkable.

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Fitness

I would have thought I'm alright as I still go to the gym almost 100 times a year. This involves a 1½ mile cycle ride to the gym, plus the journey back home of course. My regime it to concentrate on flexibility and not to try to build impressive muscles. At 82 I seem have some significant deterioration in the knee joints. It is probably osteoarthritis as there are noisy clicks when bending my knees when weights are being used. Also I have notable difficulty in any balancing exercises, so any attempt to stand on one leg for 20 seconds is likely to fail. The cardio vascular exercise on my bike is rather spoiled by the electric motor, but I must be adding some effort myself as I use only the lowest assistance available.

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Stumbling

There is a danger of stumbling and I have to take great care standing up at the end of an evening watching TV. Because of this, I am especially careful when out walking, lest I fall. On uneven surfaces I use a walking stick. Until now it has only been used as a visual aid to keep the crowds at bay in airports and to prompt restaurant waiters to seat me ahead of the hungry.

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Lethargy

Previously I've never felt lethargic and would normally launch into the next task immediately I became idle. Now I am perfectly content to pause between tasks and gaze at the wallpaper. The consequence is that I do noticeably less in the day than a year or so ago. We are consistent in mealtimes, bed time and getting up. Eight hours in bed has been enough for me for years. Now I find I can, and do, take a half hour snooze after lunch every day which indicates the sleeping total to be 8½ hours a day. When I tackle a non-routine task, like writing this, I am slower. Whilst that may be the norm for octogenarians, it is noticeable to me, so I should be content with this change?

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Vitamin B12

Low levels of B12 were detected in 2018 and I had three months of weekly injections to load my system. A GP then said I was OK and stopped all B12.  This led to a decline and another GP suggested oral B12.  After three months this was proved ineffectual so I resumed quarterly B12 top up jabs. 

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Posture

I'm certainly stooping a lot and have to make a real effort to remember to hold my shoulders back and stand upright. This is easy in the gym where I am surrounded by mirrors but far less natural when I'm ambling around the house.

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Music

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Music has always been an interesting hobby for me and at an early age I was found to have absolute pitch. This is said to be a rare phenomenon of having the ability to identify or re-create a given note; I didn't know I was special but my sister used to show me off as a bit of a freak, probably because she did not have the knack, yet she had had a least as good a musical background as me. Firstly you can name a note accurately, then you find you can pitch a note is isolation and it proves right when compared with a piano.

I can't date when this 'gift' started, but it was accurate and very useful indeed when piano and music theory lessons came into my life as a teenager.

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There are plenty of people who can hold a specific note and trot it out with ease and accuracy when needed. One example is the clergymen who can intone “O Lord Open Though our Lips” which started every Evensong service throughout the land in the 20th Century. They could find the required G below middle C, as their vocal cords were used to holding that position through years of singing the Office in church. Indeed some singers in the entertainment world who sing the same song regularly will know what note to come in on. In the very rare event that an accompanist is playing the in the 'wrong' key, they experience the shock of having to adjust that first note, especially if it is a high one, when they join forces with others.

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I have usefully employed this natural facility as an organist when training choristers. It also has enabled me to reach the piano a few minutes after an enthusiastic body of people begin the Welsh National Anthem or spontaneously sing Happy Birthday in the 'wrong' key. My fingers would naturally fall into the key being used, as I'd know where they were so the correct accompaniment could be conjured up instantly.

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Enough of the distant past. This facility lived with me for 78 years, then to my astonishment I noticed I was not always accurate. Often if there was something on the TV I'd walk to the piano and help the music along a bit. The first time pitch clashed was a dreadful revelation that my natural facility for this was disturbed. Four years on it is still reasonably accurate, yet sometimes, when it is unknown piece of music, I'm really stuck. So that 'gift' is definitely and measurably on the decline.

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