Ageing and its challenges for vision, mobility

This article was inspired by the beautiful post titled AGEING AND ITS CHALLENGES by Tola Adeniyi, a veteran journalist on WhatsApp. It was probably copied from another source because I thought it was strange to find such a great writing circulating on such a limited platform. Thank you Tola.

“Ageing and its challenges,” is a vivid illustration of Shakespeare’s “All the world’s is a stage,” in his play, “AS YOU LIKE IT.” Shakespeare writes, “All the world’s a stage and men and women merely players,” with exits and entrances. There are seven stages beginning with the infant “Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.”

The second stage is “the whining schoolboy.. ….“creeping like a snail unwillingly to school. The third is the lover, sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad made to his mistress’ eyebrow. The fourth is “a soldier, full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard, …sudden and quick in quarrel, seeking the bubble reputation….And then the justice, ….with eyes severe and beard of formal cut, ..full of wise saws and modern instances.”

“The sixth stage,” he says, “shifts into the lean and slippered pantaloon, with spectacles on nose and pouch on side; …. Turning again toward childish treble, pipes and whistles in his sound.”

Finally comes the seventh stage, the “Last scene of all that ends this strange eventful history, is second childishness and mere oblivion, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”

Tola Adeniyi’s beautiful piece concentrated more on stages five, six and seven. He used our revered jurist Prince Bola Ajibola as an allegory to bring out the challenges of old age. “For a man who had lived a very action-packed life of accomplishments and whose calling had taken him round all the corners of the globe, not to talk of his days as the National President of the Nigerian Bar Association and also as the Attorney-General and Federal Minister of Justice, it was not unexpected that the law of diminishing returns was exerting its toll.

“Little surprise then if the respectable gentleman inching towards 80 years of ceaseless breathing should cry out, albeit jokingly that this thing called old age is not a tea party.”

Certainly, “old age is not a tea party.” It comes with experience and wisdom (only for those who seek it) but also with it are aches and pains. These are often (but not always) determined by the “sins” of one’s youth.

Ageing is probably the greatest known risk factor for most human diseases. About two thirds of the 150,000 people who die each day across the globe, die from age-related causes.

The causes of ageing are uncertain. Current theories are assigned to the damage concept, whereby the accumulation of damage (such as DNA oxidation) may cause biological systems to fail, or to the programmed ageing concept, whereby internal processes (such as DNA methylation) may cause ageing.

Programmed ageing should not be confused with programmed cell death or apoptosis. The discovery, in 1934, that calorie restriction can extend lifespan by 50 per cent in rats has motivated research into the delaying and prevention of ageing.

The effect of age usually starts at about the age of 40 years. Mr Presbyope recently accosted me on the lobby of a hall after I had been introduced to him as an eye doctor. “I have difficulty reading small prints,” he said and continued, “In order to be able to read, I have to place the book at arms’ length.

“In addition, I find that I need stronger illumination to be able to read. Towards evening, on my very busy days, I have a headache and it is becoming unbearable. I have suffered silently for about four years now. I can’t bear it any longer. Please, help me.” I looked at him and smiled wryly.

“You must be about 45 years old?,” I said. “I will be 46 next month. How do you know?” “Have you heard the saying that “life begins at 40?” “This problem is age related and often starts about 40 and since you said it started about four years ago, I made a good guess by putting your age at 45! All you need is a pair of reading glasses “Thank you,” he said and made to go away.

“Wait Mister. Often commencing at about this age is glaucoma and you must have a good eye examination to exclude this terrible disease – the silent thief of sight.” “Sir, but I have a colleague who is 58 years old who is able to read without glasses. I actually envy him,” said Mr. Presbyope.

“Have you heard about the saying, “Don’t call a man lucky until you know his end?” I asked. “No!” he replied. “Your friend actually has a problem or has had his eyes tampered with,” I said emphatically. He looked confused. To drive the point home, I beckoned to his friend who had introduced him to me.

“Please, tell your friend how long you have been wearing glasses. “I started wearing glasses at about the age of 30. I was having great difficulty reading even though not much looking at distance,” replied his friend. “Now, Dr Ben. I am confused!”

“I will resolve the confusion next week. Today is Maundy Thursday commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the apostles. I must leave for a special service now.” Wishing you all the joys of Easter.