Old Lad

So here we are at 2026. To quote John Major when he became Prime Minister – “Who would have thought it!”. This year marks two milestones in my journey through old age. In the Summer when I reach 78 I will be the longest living person on the paternal side of my family. The maternal side were longer livers well into their eighties. And this year marks 60 years since I left the grammar school and launched into a career.

Interestingly I recently found a copy of a school science magazine published in 1966. In it was an article written by me entitled “Surgery or Science Fiction” which described the introduction of the Heart Lung machine for cardiac bypass surgery. The sixties were an interesting time scientifically. Computers were large reel to reel things housed in a large room and being fed by punched cards ( remember those) . Microchips did not exist – in physics we grappled with new fangled things called transistors. NASA was preparing for Moon landings.. In medical school when I started CPR was the new way to deal with cardiac arrest and external defibrillators had just arrived.. The horror of thalidomide was casting a shadow over new pharmaceuticals and Valium was reckoned to be the best thing since sliced bread for treatment of anxiety! The sixties were probably the decade for the amount of knowledge my brain had to absorb – surprisingly much of it still seems to be there.

I don’t make New Year resolutions, I go with the flow. But in this journey through old age I look back on the last 12 months and do a physical and mental MOT. So what does the checklist show. Vision and Hearing still ok. Sleep pattern ok apart from the twice nightly loo. I feel a bit stiffer physically, I often need to sit down to put my trousers on and rising from a chair is sometimes a challenge, but I have managed my goal of walking a minimum of 6000 steps a day. Adapting to widowhood has had its challenges.

So will being 78 feel any different? Who knows! In February I am taking a voyage up the Norwegian coast into the Arctic Circle. Can a 78 year old go dog sledding? Watch this space!