Changing a lifestyle
I look at my mother, sitting in her wheelchair, doubled over onto her tray table, and I despair. She is now what I am becoming. She's spent most of her life sitting in a chair doing not much of anything, and the last few years, this has been my life. .
Not by choice, I fear, but because of my back surgery and the resulting "complications" from the surgery, but before that I worked in an office for nearly 30 years, during which there was a lot of sitting around. I do know that I am out of shape, and always have been.
With my back problems, I have always had trouble with exercising, but I've always found the process rather boring anyway. But now, when I look at my mother's condition, I wonder about my own future, because this is where I am headed. She cannot even walk, at this point, without the help of a walker, and may never again.
There has always been a kind of laziness about her, and this need in her to have other people do things for her. I know that I wish for other people to do things for me, as well, but I don't wait for it, while she does.
She sat for the last 15 years in a chair in her "tv room", which I have relabled the "sun-room", because it is a room with 3 walls of windows (that she had covered by curtains, yet I open those curtains to let in the sunlight) watching television and doing word puzzles. Since that was the only tv in the house, and the room had a separate heating zone, she would keep most of the house below 60 degrees all winter and heat just that room to 72 degrees (or warmer) while she sat there all day.
Now we have a tv in the living room, as well, and we will have one in the bedrooms hooked up to a device to watch Netflix or some such and keep the entire house heated. We can split the expenses.
As far as "working out", I don't know what I am going to do about it, because my back is not up to much, but I need to make it better than it is. I also need to get out and meet people and do things, because I can't just sit in the house all day and all night.
I'm not sure how much longer my mother has, but I hope that I can make her a little more comfortable and get her out of that chair a bit more. She's a stubborn bird, though, and drives me crazy, so I just don't know. I'm all alone here, though, because both of my brothers are not up to the job - one is unwell and the other is unwelcome.
Good luck to all of us.
Not by choice, I fear, but because of my back surgery and the resulting "complications" from the surgery, but before that I worked in an office for nearly 30 years, during which there was a lot of sitting around. I do know that I am out of shape, and always have been.
With my back problems, I have always had trouble with exercising, but I've always found the process rather boring anyway. But now, when I look at my mother's condition, I wonder about my own future, because this is where I am headed. She cannot even walk, at this point, without the help of a walker, and may never again.
There has always been a kind of laziness about her, and this need in her to have other people do things for her. I know that I wish for other people to do things for me, as well, but I don't wait for it, while she does.
She sat for the last 15 years in a chair in her "tv room", which I have relabled the "sun-room", because it is a room with 3 walls of windows (that she had covered by curtains, yet I open those curtains to let in the sunlight) watching television and doing word puzzles. Since that was the only tv in the house, and the room had a separate heating zone, she would keep most of the house below 60 degrees all winter and heat just that room to 72 degrees (or warmer) while she sat there all day.
Now we have a tv in the living room, as well, and we will have one in the bedrooms hooked up to a device to watch Netflix or some such and keep the entire house heated. We can split the expenses.
As far as "working out", I don't know what I am going to do about it, because my back is not up to much, but I need to make it better than it is. I also need to get out and meet people and do things, because I can't just sit in the house all day and all night.
I'm not sure how much longer my mother has, but I hope that I can make her a little more comfortable and get her out of that chair a bit more. She's a stubborn bird, though, and drives me crazy, so I just don't know. I'm all alone here, though, because both of my brothers are not up to the job - one is unwell and the other is unwelcome.
Good luck to all of us.
Replies
Prayers. It\'s hard to be strong when your body fights you. Many mothers of old, would never speak of their pains, it was not accepted. They were expected to put their needs behind everyones. Spouses, children,elders, doing it all without complaint. Until their body finally gave out. Then that old chair that fit just right to comfort the pain was the only place where pain didn\'t sream, or leave them in tears.
Older now I understand since my pain is winning,I will never get ahead of it again. Like you my back, any many other parts have taken too much damage. I would like to exercise, to lose weight that is stubborn.
I do some things like partial sit-ups on my bead, stretches and isometrics to try to keep in tone and keep my torso core muscles well. These are done mostly in bed or chairs with only some stretches done while standing. But if I don\'t I can\'t balance. My calorie count is much less, because I know my movement is less.
I learned some on shows that were mean to help for sedentary people and seniors.They may help. I aso do breathing and lock and release methods. Locking my limbs/muscles slowly then, releasing slowly so the muscles get worked with out injury or falls for me. I slowly work my reps in this way to keep toned. This helps but, puts no pressure on my lower back.
I hope these may help you.