My father was in great health until age 65, when he had a ruptured aortic aneurysm-- and lived! He's 80 now and generally in good health on a day-to-day basis but has had additional surgeries for aneurysms in his groin, has had a knee and a hip replacement, has arthritis in his hands which means he can't golf anymore, and despite being slim and working out 3 days/week, he has had bouts of gout. Cognitively, he's very worth it, though not as sharp as he used to be, though honestly I wonder if that would improve if he would get some damn hearing aids. (He's very stubborn.)

My mom has a congenital heart condition that didn't effect her that generally has been well controlled. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 73. She is now 78, will likely be on some kind of chemo for the rest of her life, but it's a tradeoff with her heart health. So a balancing game. On a day-to-day basis she's doing really well-- walks the dog, goes to the cardiac gym, does her chemo infusion every 2 weeks and then has 2 days of feeling icky, then back to normal. Cognitively, she is good, but I notice she really doesn't handle stressful situations as well as she used to.

ILs were in good health until late 80s, then slow declines. FIL died at 98, MIL is 100 and completely bed-bound and it's abjectly terrible.

85 and 89 nothing but some cognitive issues in 89 year-old. His dad lived to be 104. All of his older siblings alive and kicking.

PP- my anecdata from caring for both sets of grandparents, my elderly parents and now my ILs it seems that if you make it to 75 without any concerning diagnoses much beyond say high BP, you're fortunate. Maybe stating the obvious here but what you do or don’t do for your health seems to catch up with you around 75. And around 75, if you get a dementia or organ disease diagnosis or fall w/ a break, you’re going to go downhill fast. There’s a real fragility that takes over. My mom is as fragile as a newborn right now.

The steely, stubborn, independent types tend to live the longest and this is where personality comes into play - there’s a real fight to keep on living. When the sheer determination goes, so does the will to live.

Dad: Minor procedures and issues in middle age. Major health issue and surgery with risk of death in early 60s. Alzheimers in early to mid 70s.

Mom: Untreated mental health issues throughout adulthood but had a particularly bad bout in early middle age and became downright frightening in early 70s. Refuses dementia evaluation, but has some cognitive issues starting early to mid 70s. In early 80s physical issues are mostly common for her age.

My mother had always been obese and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at 60ish, She is 71 now, doing very well with a treatment that has done wonders for her, has lost 60lbs. My dad (75) had a stent put in and has asthma (not new) but is very active, sharp and doing great.

Anonymous wrote:How old were your parents when they started having serious health problems? Are they alive now?

My dad had a heart attack at 40. He was overweight, but not obese. By 50, he was on disability for cardiac issues.

My mom was disabled by RA at age 50.

Both still alive, but very physically disabled and dealing with dementia, depression, and anxiety.

I worry for my biological kids.

pp, she will likely die in her 80's, without dementia or years of Alzheimers.

One parent had health issues entire life, including heart disease and diabetes, ignored and resisted docs and modern meds, no exercise and has declined from mid 50s to 81 now, now it’s too late to address multiple issues…lives with heart failure and in wheelchair. So much of this could have been mitigated long ago. I believe there is some mental illness that exacerbated all of this. Hard to watch this but I have learned so much. Modern medicine is amazing.

Mom diagnosed with breast cancer at 64. She was treated for it and is recovered/independent now at 68, although she's had other health issues crop up this year (e.g., needed a stent this year).
My dad is 74 and hasn't had major health issues yet. He's always taken good care of his health and still takes group fitness classes with the youngs.

My MIL was living alone, but spiraled into a health crisis that left her in a nursing home at 75. She was living alone prior to that but probably should not have been.
I never met my FIL becuase he died suddenly at 76 before I met my husband. Was probably a heart issue, but they don't know for sure.

My mom was diagnosed with ALS in her 50s. My dad was diagnosed with cancer in his mid-80s. No serious problems before those.

Dad is 85--one knee replacement and recently got a hearing aid
Mom is 83--had breast cancer in her forties and had radiation, hip replacement, complains about her weight a lot

My mom started with serious melanoma when I was a sophomore I college. She would have been 54 at the time. She’s Salome but continues with multiple mose surgeries and such.

My dad was a in physical trade, I don’t recall him not having physical issues. Maybe his worst was a full shoulder replacement at 77. But since then, he’s had prostate cancer, knee replacement, carpal tunnel surgery, etc.

Mom—no major ones into her 70s.

Dad-died young of a rare cancer. He had a job that exposed him to a lot of toxic materials though.

Anonymous wrote:Parents are both 80 with no health issues. They are cute, active old people who walk several miles daily and entertain often.

I know this can change on a dime.

Marie

Anonymous wrote:Mom: now 85 and totally healthy apart from hearing loss. A decade ago I thought she was on a rapid downhill slope, but it turned out it was just that her knee and hip arthritis had reached a critical level and she was in such constant pain it affected everything. Four joint replacements and she's in many ways in better shape than she was a decade ago. I consider us both very lucky.

Buttt why