Woman concerned for ailing husband
We all know by now that the late Art Linkletter's comment, "Old age is not for sissies," is more truth than fiction.
One local woman - unexpectedly forced into retirement when the company she worked for was sold to a new owner several years ago - lives with that truth on a daily basis.
Her husband, who has had heart surgery, is now facing the prospect of getting that surgery redone in the not-too-distant future.
"He doesn't have the energy to do much anymore and he often limps these days," his wife said. "All the stuff he - and we - used to do, he no longer can do. It's not that he doesn't want to do things, because he does. It's just that he gets so frustrated when something goes wrong and, say, he falls. He gets very upset."
Her husband will also need cataract surgery soon in both eyes. Combine this with the wife's migraines, atrial fibrillation, asthma and osteoporosis, and their limited retirement income doesn't go far.
"We don't go out and spend money on things like movies," she said. "I'll go to the library, instead, because it doesn't cost anything. I love our Coeur d'Alene library."
Her husband of two decades has been on disability for years after incurring an on-the-job back injury.
"He no longer feels like going anywhere," his wife said. "He doesn't want to get out and visit people and I'm afraid to leave him alone anymore because I don't know if he'll trip and fall. I don't want to be out of the house that long, so when I take walks, they're always short ones.
"My biggest Christmas wish is to have my husband cheerful and healthy again. As far as my own dreams, I haven't thought that far ahead. I mean, I'm sitting here with my mouth open and my mind blank trying to think of an answer to that. Honestly, I'm just worried about his happiness."
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