Acquaintances and Friends Dying Too Young

[aja8888]

Just talked to a good friend and he was telling me, he has prostate cancer and will be starting chemo next week. He also told me of a guy I know well, that has cancer and it has spread all over, and is at home just home, with nothing more they can do for him.

Also, he told me of a guy I have known for many years and I just about hired him at one time. He has prostate cancer and is doctoring with it and said he will have his removed.

Two of the guys are under 60 years old and one is 67 years of age.

So, sad for these people every time I hear of one more that I have known is sick or has died. It makes me wonder why I didn't retire earlier.

Sorry to hear, but it's common as you get older.

I have given up travelling back to Connecticut to visit four old close friends as they are all gone. Two moved to Florida and one died and the other I can't locate, and my two best friends in CT died in 2019, one while I was on the way to visit. I'm looking at being 78 in two months and feel like I have dodged bullets over the years. I am still pretty healthy and active and lucky, I guess.

 

[Kook]

Maybe the folks that post about the "OMY Syndrome" should read this thread (hopefully some of you have). Really makes you think about your mortality, and whether chasing those last few $$ before retiring is really worth it..........

I have recently posted as such, just a few days ago... and this thread has REALLY hit home!

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Lost a dear S-I-L a couple of days ago. (Age 62.)

 

[Richard4444]

So sorry to all ER Board members who lost friends / family too early. I've lost a whole bunch as well and it is a sad reminder. Let's be grateful for what we have and remember fondly those who we have lost.

Rich

 

[kcowan]

DWs second cousin dropped dead of a heart attack at 48. He had just got off his peloton and was doing yoga to relax. They were into fitness, long distance runs and hockey.

 

[ncbill]

DWs second cousin dropped dead of a heart attack at 48. He had just got off his peloton and was doing yoga to relax. They were into fitness, long distance runs and hockey.

Local university lost a beloved basketball coach at age 56 after he just went for a jog.

 

[O2Bfree]

Some years ago, a guy I knew at my gym who'd won various weightlifting contests in his age group dropped dead of a heart attack while mowing his lawn. He was 56.

The deaths of such fit, young-ish people make me think that maybe some sort of heart test should be standard at some age, like a colonoscopy is at 50. Of course, many fit folks might blow them off, as many do with colonoscopies.

 

[audreyh1]

Sorry to hear, but it's common as you get older.

I have given up travelling back to Connecticut to visit four old close friends as they are all gone. Two moved to Florida and one died and the other I can't locate, and my two best friends in CT died in 2019, one while I was on the way to visit. I'm looking at being 78 in two months and feel like I have dodged bullets over the years. I am still pretty healthy and active and lucky, I guess.

With a few replaced joints? It’s fabulous that you are still active and healthy.

 

[aja8888]

With a few replaced joints? It’s fabulous that you are still active and healthy.

Knock on wood, for sure. The high tech hip joints are a miracle these days.

 

[Winemaker]

Lost two former bosses in the past 10 months, a 61 yo of stroke complications and a 61 yo of liver cancer, both 2 years younger than I.

 

[street]

WOW!
Everyday I give thanks for my health and so blessed, in so many ways.

 

[Ally]

I mentioned earlier about my close friend and former college roommate dying this year, and now my husband’s roommate just died of a heart attack. They were very close, too. I feel lucky to be alive.

 

[braumeister]

Some years ago, a guy I knew at my gym who'd won various weightlifting contests in his age group dropped dead of a heart attack while mowing his lawn. He was 56.

The deaths of such fit, young-ish people make me think that maybe some sort of heart test should be standard at some age, like a colonoscopy is at 50. Of course, many fit folks might blow them off, as many do with colonoscopies.

Reminds me of a friend from high school. Very fit, athletic young man. Was in an intramural basketball game in the school gym after classes one afternoon (freshman year) and suddenly walked off the court and sat down on a bench in the hallway. Never got up. Heart attack.

I believe that medical people have since recognized this situation as being more common than expected, and these days they actually do examine the hearts of young people more closely than they did back then, particularly when looking at those who want to participate in athletics.

 

[kcowan]

I remember when Bill Clinton was diagnosed as needing bypass surgery after he was finished as President. That was a wakeup call!

Get yourself a 24-hour heart monitor, an MRI and blood tests (even if you have to pay)!

 

[Winemaker]

I talked to an acquaintance yesterday; he survived an heart attack earlier this month. 58 yo, on statins for years, had a 90% and a 70% blockage. Open heart surgery, the also repaired a damaged valve. He said he had to be physically restrained in his hospital bed as he pulled his ventilator tube out, and fell out of bed in a different incident.

 

[Chuckanut]

Keep moving. Motion is lotion.

Your exercise routine does not have to be a big formal one using expensive equipment at home or a gym. Just keep moving. Walk, bend, get on the floor a few times a day and get up. Carry something around the house. Even a few hours a day of motion is highly beneficial.

https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/show-1264-how-to-make-exercise-more-enjoyable

In your great-grandparents’ day, hardly anybody exercised. There were sports enthusiasts who raced or danced or rode horses, played ball or rowed for fun. But then, as throughout evolution, very few people went to the gym. Still, they stayed physically active, either because their work required it or because they had found something, such as wandering in the woods, that they really enjoyed.