Women Over 50–Your New Normal, Part I
Regular readers of Feisty Side of Fifty know I’m a “glass half-full” type of gal. Of course, as a woman past 50, I’m dealing with a changing face and body, aches and pains that are getting harder to ignore, and my share of disappointments. I’ve also endured significant loss—both my parents are now gone and some of my once close relationships have distanced as we’ve grown in different ways. But, as the old saying goes, “at least I’ve got my health.” However, what if I didn’t?
Sally Franz, a well-known purveyor of “boomer humor” found herself in just this situation. Always in the peak of good health, Sally was an avid skier, rock-climber, and all around active kinda gal. Then one day on a ski trip, as she was traversing the double black diamond slope, she felt a tingling in her left toes. She tried to ignore it but the tingling traveled up her left leg and then started in her other foot. So Sally decided to return to the lodge.
By the time she made it down the hill (a mere 20 minutes or so), Sally was paralyzed. As a victim of the strange and immediately debilitating disease, Transverse Myelitis, Sally’s life changed in untold ways. She went from being a self-ascribed “Alpha Female” to becoming a paraplegic who needed bedpans and help washing herself. This unfortunate experience became her “new normal.”
In truth, Sally became an unwilling victim of the healthcare system, as it exists today. But victim is a role our friend, Sally, does not wear well. So she got to writing. The result is a fabulous read all about the good, the bad, the ugly, and the funny of what she experienced. I invite you to check out Sally’s site, listen to our interview, and take a look at her book.
Scrambled Leggs: A Snarky Tale of Hospital Hooey is a work you won’t soon forget. Sally dispenses hope and humor and she also provides valuable advice for patients, caregivers, family, and friends. I wish I’d had this book years ago. I would have done many things differently when my mother was ill and bedridden for years.
Don’t miss “Your New Normal—Part II” when I continue my 10-part series with Suzanne Braun Levine on Feisty Side of Fifty Radio and she shares her thoughts on dealing with the more difficult aspects of aging.
Yes, we do grow feistier with age but sometimes life throws us a big curve and we need to stop and reevaluate. And we do have a choice. As we face our own new normal, it’s helpful to remember Sally’s words: “Given what I have left, now what can I do?”
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