The Art of the Growing Bolder Comeback A Playbook for Active Longevity
Excerpt from “Growing Bolder: Defy the Cult of Youth, Live With Passion and Purpose,” by Marc Middleton.
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You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. — C.S. Lewis We’ll all experience an endless series of setbacks as we grow older. We’ll arrive at countless intersections where our desires collide with our fears. Do we stretch, trying to move forward? Or do we withdraw, trying to avoid further exposure? These are critical and ultimately lifedefining moments that test our wills and our belief systems about what’s possible. Learning how to push through intersections and bounce back from setbacks is one of the most important life skills that we can acquire. Because comebacks, or at least the need for them, are part of the human condition. This is one of the most important goals of the Growing Bolder mission — to share what’s possible. It wasn’t long ago that, for an elderly person, a hip fracture was virtually a death sentence, with an 80% mortality rate. Patients were treated with a cast, traction and six months of bed rest. Total hip replacements with complete recovery are now commonplace, even for the elderly. Today, the mortality rate is less than 1% for patients under age 80 and only 5% for patients over age 90. I spoke at a caregiving conference about “The Power of Relatable Examples” and shared how Growing Bolder tries to smash destructive stereotypes and false narratives by showing what’s possible for ordinary people. After I spoke, a caregiver told me about her friend’s vibrant, energetic 90-year-old mother who had broken her hip. Despite their best efforts, she told me they had been unable to reignite her passion for life. “Honey,” the elderly woman had said, “no one comes back from a broken hip at my age.” Two months later she was gone. This is exactly why we need to produce and share the stories of 90-year-olds who do come back from hip replacements or spinal reconstructions or organ transplants. It’s difficult, if not impossible, for most of us to achieve something that we don’t truly believe is possible for ordinary people. All of us are in the middle of a comeback right now — some more challenging than others. We’re coming back from being fired or laid off, from a pulled muscle or a broken back. We’re coming back from a bad investment, a bad accident, a bad childhood or a bad relationship. We’re coming back from a 48-hour case of the flu or a yearlong battle with cancer. We’re coming back from a stroke, a heart attack or a devastating diagnosis.