Never give up on life.

"For the last few months, he has been telling me he cannot walk each time I wanted to take him to the park for some simple exercise," the wife of eighty year old man complained to me. "He has also stopped eating. I have to feed him and he cannot fall asleep."

I examined him and found his hands and legs cold. He was certainly weak and the poor wife was fearful that he was weakening and something tragic might happen. There was no injury to be found. He was not obese and from the shape of his body, he must have been a sportsman once upon a time.

That he was a sportsman was true. Lately, unfortunately, he had decided he had enough of eating, reading the newspapers, watching television and sleeping. Life has lost its meaning to the poor guy. He decided to take things easy and gradually his muscle tone declined and weakness as well as stiffness overcame him.

Without much movement or exercise, his body metabolism slowed its pace and the need for food was lost. And he did not drink much either. No water and the organs of elimination found it difficult to function. Eventually, circulation of blood became poorer and the lymphatic system found it difficult to rid the body of waste and the body could swell with liquids.

A massage was what he needed to stimulate the muscles and blood circulation. I encouraged him to drink more water. Since he could also be dehydrated and had very little energy, I encouraged the wife to give him an isotonic drink although he had diabetes and the drink did contain lots of sugar. So to dilute the sugar, I advised her to give him the drink diluted with some warm water.

Two days later I found the eighty year old man walking around, able to eat and sleep. Of course, everyone was happy with his condition. However, I told his wife that he must be encourage to live life as it is meant to be. He must move and be active. Walk around and do things that he enjoys. Go places and enjoy nature and its surroundings. Live!

Actually, it is the attitude of those who have grown older; they believe they have to slow down. What happens when old people slow down? They spend less energy, become obese, weaken easier through having to carry that extra load of body fat and soon rest most of the time. Then, metabolism slows , appetite disappears and with less sweat, the need to drink diminish even though the organs still need the water to function. As a result of so much fatigue, rest becomes more important that going out to enjoy life. Gradually and inevitably, everything slows down and even when a television programme is on, the programme is watching the supposed watcher.

So, never give up on life. Look forward to fun in life as we open our eyes to each wonderful day. There is still so much to learn and enjoy. Science is changing, the world is rejuvenating and life changes and certainly we would like to see what development will come our way.