Archive | Growing Old is Not for Sissies

COVID-19 By the Numbers: Part 2 – Hope

To have hope in dealing with COVID-19, one must have perspective. Perspective comes from knowing other numbers. For example, the flu kills 100 people a day in the U.S. (more or less, depending on source). Most people are unaware of the rate at which other diseases kill. Here is a sample (based on numbers from […]

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David has created some interesting charts designed to give the readers of this blog some hope for the future when we resume our lives.  Although I, like everyone else, hope we will return to “normal” soon, I believe normal will be different from what normal used to be, in the good old days before COVID-19 […]

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COVID-19 By the Numbers: Part 1 – Fear

As we are all experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, we are bombarded with numbers. Working with data, i.e., numbers, is a way of life for Melissa and me. Because of that, I’ve been frustrated from day 1 that, while we are being given some numbers, we are not being given others. Further, some of the “numbers […]

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Interpreting statistical data is not for the faint hearted.  I should know; I have both taken and taught courses in statistics. I use statistics on a regular basis at work. (SPSS, anyone?)  For the most part, the average person cannot begin to understand statistics.  For many people, understanding mathematics is a challenge and, based on […]

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Twilight Zone

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 16, 2020

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Mental Health, Psychology, Work-Life

“Help, I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone” go the lyrics of the 1982 song by Golden Earring. The twilight zone, where things are not as they seem, was envisioned, and brought to the small and big screen, by the imagination of Rod Serling. I hear this song in my head each time I enter the […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 16, 2020

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Mental Health, Psychology, Work-Life

Dementia is a strange disease that plays strange tricks on the minds of those who suffer from it, and sometimes, on the minds of those who interact with dementia patients.  Based on my education as a psychologist, as well as my experience with family members and friends who suffer from dementia and mental illness, I […]

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Herman’s Army

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On February 27, 2020

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Giving Back, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Work-Life

This is another post in the series of “growing old is not for sissies.” The twists and turns of aging require frequent adjustments. For Dad, the last 6-8 months have involved many. Hospital, then rehab, then relocation to a new assisted living community, adjustments to new people at the new place, adjustments to his new […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On February 27, 2020

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Giving Back, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Work-Life

David’s comments about all of the people involved in his parents’ care is another example of the phenomenon known as “it takes a village.”  In the case of frail, elderly parents, it is difficult for many families to assume a care giving role, particularly if family members live out of town, are employed, and/or have […]

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Traits of Mom’s wheelchair helpers

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On September 3, 2019

Category: Common Courtesy, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Psychology

As with many illnesses, including some types of dementia, the ability to ambulate declines until the patient is unable to walk. My mother had a form of dementia, known as Pick’s Disease, that caused a regression in her ability to ambulate on her own, to walking with a cane, to walking with a four pronged […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On September 3, 2019

Category: Common Courtesy, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Psychology

Melissa reported these encounters with angels to me in real time. It was surprising to her and her Mom, as well as to me, at first. But, then it came to be something of a curiosity as to what story I’d hear her tell next. I don’t think we had many offers of help when […]

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A scientist’s experience of the paranormal

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On August 13, 2019

Category: Common Courtesy, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Psychology

I am a scientist and, as a scientist, I prefer to base my decisions on data and other provable information. However, there are some things that cannot be explained by logic, science, or anything else; they remain mysteries. As I write this post at a time near the 10 year anniversary of my mother’s death, […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On August 13, 2019

Category: Common Courtesy, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Life Outside of Work, Psychology

I was just thinking of this event recently, before reading what Melissa wrote about that night. I, too, am very glad that we were all together when Leola turned out the lights in that I don’t think the experience would have otherwise been believable. She was not connected to any machines, so there was nothing […]

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Same as it Never Was

With apologies in advance to David Byrne and others who wrote the song Same as it Ever Was, and which I recently heard, I was prompted to change “ever” to “never” for this post. Better stated, perhaps in the context of this post, it is perhaps Sane as it Never Was. As has been written […]

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Everyone experiences dementia, and other psychological maladies, differently. In addition, families and friends of people with psychological problems react to the changes in their loved one’s behavior in their own, unique, ways. There are no two people who are alike and this truism applies to coping with mental health issues in oneself and one’s family. […]

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Chris’ Dad

This morning I learned of the death of the father of one of Melissa’s lifelong friends. Chris and Melissa have known each other since childhood. Melissa provided guidance to Chris in recent years as he and his family dealt with health and end of life issues related to his father. These included those issues related […]

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The power of human touch cannot be underestimated. Pioneering psychological research, conducted by Dr. Harry Harlow and his colleagues, beginning in the 1930s, established that physical contact is an essential part of human development. Although Dr. Harlow’s studies were primarily focused on the establishment of a bond between mothers and their offspring, it is well […]

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In some ways faster than I was

In my previous post about speed, I mentioned I am not as fast as I once was. This post may seem contradictory in that, in many ways, I am faster than I have ever been. Despite limitations related to the aging process, experience in doing what I do has made me highly efficient, not to […]

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Now this is more like what I’d expect to hear from Melissa. As we’ve noted before, we each write our posts based on a topic list which we create individually. This means neither of us know what the other has up a sleeve until we read a post the other has written. So, though I’m […]

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Confabulation

I recently learned a new word, confabulation. I learned it in the context of a memory test I observed. The test was to listen to a short story about a woman who was grocery shopping, lost her wallet, couldn’t pay at checkout, then a little girl found the wallet and called the woman who lost […]

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Just as David makes a musical reference, followed by an apology, to Carly Simon, I will first reference, then apologize to, the great band, The Traveling Wilburys. (For the reader who does not know, the Traveling Wilburys was a “super group,” that is, a band comprised of immensely famous musicians. Its members were George Harrison, […]

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