“Energy begets
energy,” Mom's physical therapist would tell her, and, “If you
don't use it, you'll lose what little muscle tone you have left. You
don't want to get so weak you can't take yourself to the bathroom, do
you?” This mild bullying would eventually get Mom out of the house
and walking twice a week, to be followed by a session of very light
weight-lifting. The physical therapist got more exercise than Mom
during these sessions.
The house was in my
price range, and was perfect only because it didn't have a front
doorstep - none. I had seen it while driving down West Temple Street.
“For Sale by Owner,” and the price. Note to self: check it out on
the way home. Did. It wasn't my favorite part of the valley, but it
was closer to work, and to Amy's school. And it didn't have a front
doorstep.
“You're going to
do what?” I asked my daughter. “What” was a Tough Mudder
event: 12.5 kilometers of obstacle courses covered in mud, with an
ice pool and electric eels, just for fun. Amy was not an especially
athletic person, but had started running to help improve her fitness
level; why anyone who chased three little boys around all day needed
to run to do this was beyond me.
Mom and my sisters
came with me to walk through the house before it closed. “We can
convert the garage into a bedroom for you, Mom, and you won't have to
deal with stairs anymore,” I told her. Mom's knees were arthritic
in the extreme, and she lived in a split-entry home which required
her to either go up eight steps or down eight steps anytime she
wanted to enter or leave the house.
Mom had never been
especially athletic, either. I cannot remember even one time she
voluntarily went walking. She would visit grocery stores late at
night and push a cart up and down the aisles: hardly aerobic.
“Aerobic exercise
is one of the best ways to prevent dementia and Alzheimer's,” Dr.
Henry tells me, pointing to a study published
in the
Journal
of Alzheimer's Disease: “Exercising
for 150 minutes each week may be the best treatment for Alzheimer's.”
Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Public Health
conducted the study, which reveals that exercise could improve
cognitive function in people at risk of Alzheimer's by improving the
efficiency of brain activity. And: “No study has shown that a drug
can do what we showed is possible with exercise."
OK, I'll work on
it. Temporarily. Occasionally. Kathy has early-onset Alzheimer's, and
for several months we have been walking together. We know every dip
and rough patch in the neighborhood sidewalks. We enjoy the changing
blooms as the forsythia bushes burst out in yellow, followed by the
tulips and daffodils. The globe willows and Lombardy poplars grace
the area with green. Kathy isn't available on weekends. My
brother-in-law keeps her too busy. He has difficulty with the concept
that she can't drive anymore, leaving him to grocery shop, and run
other errands she used to help with.
It takes four
months and fifteen thousand dollars to convert the garage, and change
the downstairs bathroom from a half bath to a full bath, complete
with wheelchair access and security bars. Now all we have to do is
sell Mom's house and move her in, effectively eliminating the only
exercise she had.
Amy's mud run
boosted her self-esteem. Training for it helped her lose weight and
get toned in areas she hasn't worked on since George was born. I have
to admit it has been good for her.
Mom lasted four
years after moving into my home. She became more and more chair and
bed bound, and resisted every effort to get her to participate in
life. In trying to help her avoid arthritis pain, I enabled her in
becoming an invalid. Hindsight is 20/20; if I had realized what it
would do to her to eliminate the need to use stairs, I would have
moved into her home instead of moving her into mine.
Amy is signed up
for another Tough Mudder next May. She wants me to join her.
