Achieving Optimum Health at 85

How I Added Years to My Father's Life with One Simple Change

My Dad was born in 1924. At the age of 18, he was drafted into the Army at the beginning of WWII. He was part of the D-Day forces that landed on Normandy at Utah Beach. After crossing the Rhine River, he was severely wounded while standing guard duty one night. After a lengthy recovery, he started working in civilian life, and married my Mother in 1947. Throughout his life, he worked very hard, providing a good life for my Mother, myself, and my one sister and three brothers.

My father's idea of physical exercise was doing yard work and projects around the house. Healthy eating was three square meals a day; the main one being the family meal at night when he got home from work. It always consisted of either beef, pork, or chicken; along with potatoes, vegetables, and biscuits. There were always desserts in our house; my Mother was an exceptional cook. He never really had any health issues; at least none that we knew of, as he always internalized everything. Although I remember him being in the hospital once for a stomach ailment; he would always resist medical attention and prescription drugs.

In his 40s and 50s, he went through mental and physical trauma from a divorce with my Mother, a second marriage to a woman who contracted and eventually died from Parkinsons Disease, and a period of depression when members of his immediate family and many of his friends had died, including his parents, my Mother, and several of his Army buddies. As he got into his 60s, I began to notice some medical problems that he was having; and he actually confided in me one day as to the extent of these problems. He had an ulcer, prostrate issues, kidney issues, and constant headaches. He is also very stubborn; and rarely to advice from anyone. He would often shrug it off; saying that it will go away.