Aging and Coping with a New Disability  

As people age, it is very common that they will develop a disabling condition. 60 % of the persons who are blind are over 55 years of age. Many persons, perhaps most over 60 experience some hearing loss, sometimes it is severe. Many experience some degree of physical limitation due to arthritic joints, and diseases such as diabetes, cancer, COPD, and heart and circulatory conditions. It is normal to experience disabling conditions, as we age, but it is not necessary to give up on an active and positive life, just because one develops a disability. Many persons who are aging with one or more disabilities, are living positive productive lives. The changing attitudes toward disabilities which have emerged in the last several decades are helping older persons who now find that they have a disability to make a positive adjustment and move forward with a positive attitude and a productive and happy life.

Richard Kraft is retired from the education faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Dr. Kraft taught for over 30 years on the Boulder campus. He was an innovator in outdoor education, and experience based , and international education. He has a large number of successful students who are now located in universities, public schools, and private organizations. During his middle years of life, he was very athletic, running the Boston Marathon, climbing Mt. McKinley, and cycling regularly. However, the years and the physical activity have taken their toll on his body.

Dr. Kraft has had both of his hips replaced. He has had a cancerous growth removed from his leg, and he did permanent damage to a shoulder in a bicycle accident. He now uses a cane to walk and has given up much of his strenuous activities. While he copes with a variety of disabling conditions, he has remained active and creative.

A few years ago Dick Kraft and his wife, Helen volunteered to be missionaries in East Africa, where Dick worked with the education system and Helen employed her nursing skills in a local clinic. After returning to their home in Boulder Dick has joined several development projects in Africa, Latin America, and Indonesia , where he has consulted on educational issues. Richard Kraft represents two frequently emerging trends among our aging population. He wants to continue to be productive after he has retired from his life career, and he is confronting a disabling condition which is related to the aging process. When Barbara Lamm's hip replacement surgery failed, leaving her with a broken pelvic bone, as well as a badly damaged hip joint, she became depressed and concerned about her future. Ms. Lamm had been an active person throughout her life. She traveled extensively and participated in community activities, and Democratic party politics. She did not want to give up her active life style, but she feared that she would have no choice.

Ms. Lamm decided to find a new doctor and try again to repair her hip. This time the surgery was more successful. While she still has some limitations, she has gone back to work on a part-time basis and has returned to many of her community activities. She says, “While I can't do everything that I once could, I am going to do all that I can. But I am going to use my head about it. I have to learn what my limits are, but I am not going to allow anyone else to tell me what those limits may be”.

Craft and Lamm are two persons who are learning to live positively with a new disability, as they age. They are individuals who have a life-time of meaningful experience and have much to offer the community. They have made the decision to continue to participate actively in life for as long as their health will permit. They are making the necessary accommodations, including acknowledging their own limitations, but they are not ready to withdraw to the rocking chair quite yet.

When Jim Rowland discovered that he was losing his sight, as the result of a retina disorder, he was forced to leave his executive management position with a public utility. Mr. Rowland was approaching retirement age, and he doubted that he would ever be able to work again. He volunteered to serve on two private non-profit boards of directors, where his management skills were put to good use. He also served on a Statewide Independent Living Council. He served as Chairperson of the SILC for two years of his term. However, Jim was not satisfied to do part-time volunteer work. He had always enjoyed singing; so he began to explore, if he could develop an entertainment business. He began singing for Senior Centers , nursing homes, and social clubs throughout his region. He acquired computer equipment which would play the instrumental accompaniment for his singing, and he recruited volunteers who have driven his van, transporting him and his equipment to his engagements. He has built a thriving business which occupies him extensively throughout the year. His most important question today is, how long will his voice hold up to the work load that he carries.

As we age, we encounter new challenges. Those challenges are likely to include a disabling condition. These conditions often present difficult challenges, but they need not prevent one from living an active fulfilling life. Often they open new opportunities which were never before considered. Aging need not end our growth and development. The same is true for aging with a disability. Dick Craft, Barbara Lamm, and Jim Rowland are but three examples of persons who have accepted the challenge of aging with a disability and have continued to develop as persons into their seventh decade of life.

Aging with a disability can be a depressing experience, but it need not be. Three things are necessary to prevent unnecessary decline. One must keep a positive attitude. This means that one must continue to believe that successful living is possible and that he or she can learn to live well with a disability. Second, one must be realistic about ones disability, find and use helpful aids and accommodations, and follow healthy practices, and third, one must actively plan and implement realistic plans for personal development. When plans are made, they must be carried through to completion. One can never return to ones youth, but one can make the most of what ever years one has. Others are living productively and happily with a disability as they age, why shouldn't you?