Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 22 : Fall 2014 | Page 79

Healthy You:

The Art of
Aging Well
by Kim Jones,
Cary Medical Center

Cary Medical Center joined the nonagenarian club this
year. It’s an impressive milestone for any organization
and we’ve had a grand time celebrating it with our
staff, patients, and community. As I’ve reflected on
our hospital’s 90 year history, I can’t help but ponder
what life will be like nine decades from now. I mean
it’s mind-boggling to think about how much has
changed just in my lifetime, let alone my parents’ or
grandparents’. For instance, my Grampy (Norman)
Jones was born in 1894. He passed away at the age
of 93 when I was 15 years old. That means I actually
had conversations with someone who grew up in an
era when the horse and buggy was more common
than the car. Hard to believe, right? Just think what
wonders that will be had in 2100!
Like most, I want to live a long life. I want to be around
to see technology that’s currently beyond our wildest
imaginations, to hear music that has yet to be written,
and to go to places that haven’t even been discovered
yet. I don’t just want to be in the nonagenarian club, I
want to be an active participant in it.
But we’ve all heard the tragic stories about people
who reach their golden years only to be confined
to a bed, unable to think clearly, or are completely
dependent on others. And we’ve probably all known
someone who checks out of life and ages into mere
existence. This is a heart-breaking fate, indeed, and
seems to happen “naturally”. However, recent studies
on successful aging have shown that we have more
control over the aging process than most of us realize.
“Only one-third of what predicts how well we age is
FALL 2014

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