The Connecticut Elder Law Blog

My Battle With Lance Armstrong

Please note that this has absolutely nothing to do with Elder Law, but it's a neat story and if you are a running and/or cycling enthusiast you might get a kick out of it.  And yes, it's a true story...

I ran in the Boston Marathon last month and it took me only two minutes to spot and catch up to Lance Armstrong.  I then spent most of the race running right next to, slightly behind or slightly in front of one of the most amazing athletes in the history of sports.  At one point he expressed dismay to me over how many "Yankees Suck" comments I was receiving since I was sporting my Yankees cap, apologized for accidentally elbowing me, and he even took a cup of water that I offered. 

But the most unforgettable memory took place at the 12-mile mark when Lance looked around and found that his two training partners had disappeared.  At that point I was running slightly off one of his shoulders and decided to pull ahead of him a little bit.  Once I did that I heard him say, "OK, here we go!" loud and clear just before he tucked in directly behind me.  I thought to myself, OK, I might be hallucinating, but it appears that Lance Armstrong is drafting off of me!  So I experimented and gradually floated over to the right side of the road and, sure enough, Lance followed me.  Then I gradually headed back over to the middle of the road and he continued to follow me, staying no more than a stride and a half back!  Then I came up on a slower runner and passed him on the right.  At the same time Lance passed the guy on the left and then quickly tucked back in behind me!  That's when I decided that, regardless of the outcome of the race, all the intense training that I've done over the past 20 years that has gotten me to the point where I could be a legitimate pace-setter for Lance Armstrong was well worth it.  Due to the pure excitement I was feeling, I cranked up the pace some more and Lance was game.

Then, shortly after assigning me pace-setting duties, he moved to the left and stayed directly next to me.  I assumed he was offering to do some of the work and slowed down a tad to allow him to take over, but he slowed down too and stayed beside me.  Thinking I must have misread him, I sped up to resume my role as pace-setter, but he sped up as well and continued to stay next to me!  I thought this was a little strange, but then suddenly realized what he was doing since we were approaching Wellesley College...he wanted nothing to do with the screaming, psychotic Wellesley women and was keeping me between him and them as a human shield!  I figured hey, if you have a chance to help Lance Armstrong out with something then you go ahead and do it, and for the first time in ten Bostons I stayed in the middle of the road going by Wellesley and didn't slap a single hand.

Alas, this thrilling experience, which I won't soon forget, came to an end just past the 17-mile mark where I joined the thousands of athletes who have not figured out how to effectively deal with Lance Armstrong on the hills.  After sticking with Lance for a full 17 miles, he silently bade me farewell as he successfully converted his hill-climbing prowess in the mountain stages of the Tour de France to the Newton Hills of the Boston Marathon.  I was toast after pushing the last 4-mile stretch too hard but not caring since I played a small part in helping out the 7-time Tour de France champion.

I ended up walking through the water stations at the 24 and 25-mile markers and then finished solidly in 2 hours 58 minutes (Lance ended up nipping me by 7 minutes).  It was my fourth fastest Boston finish and my best Boston time since 2001.  So I was exhausted but pretty happy with the overall results and thoroughly enjoyed the once-in-a-lifetime Lance Armstrong experience.

After the race, I heard Lance mention to the Media that he would love to run Boston again next year.  Sounds like Round #2 to me! 

Thanks, Lance...it was a blast!

Spit, Please!

It looks like the medical community is tantalizingly close to developing tests for such things as cancer, heart disease and diabetes by having patients spit into a cup instead of drawing blood samples with needles.

The full article focuses on how wonderful this will be for seniors.  True enough, but hey...I have three young boys at home who would be ecstatic over the concept of "sanctioned spitting" instead of being poked with needles (regardless of how many stickers and lollipops they're offered afterwards!).

Spare Tires and Alzheimer's Disease

Need another excuse to lose a few extra pounds, particularly around the midsection?  Researchers at Kaiser Permanente have determined that people with extra belly fat in their 40's end up with a much higher risk of developing Alzheimer's in their 70's than those who have managed to avoid the love handles.  This is in addition to the increased risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease. 

The risk of Alzheimer's for large-bellied folks is 2.3 times higher.  Add "obese" to the "large- bellied" characterization, then the risk is 3.6 times higher.  Eek!  I'd better stick to my marathon running.

Full article is here.

Cancer Takes an Enormous Toll on Those Over 55

Many of my clients struggle with dementia, but I never realized the disproportionate manner in which cancer strikes those 55 and over.  According to this article from WSOC's website out of Charlotte, NC, a whopping 77% of all cancer cases diagnosed in the United States are diagnosed in those 55 years of age and older (please note that although the title of the article is "Cancer in the Elderly", I absolutely do NOT consider a 55 year-old to be elderly.  Please take note, mom and dad!).

Another troubling issue pointed out in the article is that seniors have a unique set of problems when it comes to cancer treatment, such as pre-existing medical conditions, the use of many different medicines, dementia and social isolation.

Thankfully, it appears that the American medical community is taking steps to address this issue as the baby boomers continue to flood into the "over 55" category.  In the meantime, valuable information on cancer prevention can be found at the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute.   

The Brain: Use it or Lose it!

It is relatively common knowledge at this point that the human brain is similar to a muscle in the sense that you need to "exercise" it in order to maintain its fitness.  Many of my elderly clients regularly do puzzles (Sudoku is all the rage these days), knitting, reading, remaining in the workforce, etc., and that helps them keep their mental edge.  However, I ran into some fascinating information on this issue in this Fosters.com article (from Fosters Daily Democrat, a newspaper out of New Hampshire). 

Apparently up to 2/3 of cases in which autopsies are performed on elderly decedents who were mentally sharp throughout their lives, the doctors discover evidence of Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia in the decedent's brain.  In other words, in these cases a Pathologist sees an Alzheimer's victim while the family saw a fully-functioning and highly-cognitive person!

This phenomenon has prompted a the theory of "cognitive reserve", which argues that by staying mentally active and stimulated, the brain is capable of producing extra neurons which compensates for dementia-related brain pathology which often occurs later in life.

And some relevant information for those of us who are not quite in the "elderly/senior" category: it's never too early for us to shore up our cognitive reserve.  In fact, individuals with advanced education seem to be able to ward off cognitive decline much better than others.  So intellectual stimulation in our early years can reap enormous benefits in our later years.

The message: use that brain as early as possible and as often as possible!

Cold Sores a "Major Cause" of Alzheimer's?

I recently ran across this article from ABC News in Australia reporting on a British research study which claims that cold sores triggered by the herpes simplex virus may be a "major" cause of Alzheimer's Disease. 

The virus apparently creates a large amount of the same protein that comprises the plaque seen in the brain of an Alzheimer's patient.

The research team leader claims that this cold sore virus could be the cause of at least half of all Alzheimer's cases.

I suppose that the silver lining in this story is that, theoretically, a vaccine that prevents this virus could dramatically reduce the incidence of Alzheimer's cases.  But the article indicates that there is currently no vaccine and the development of a effective vaccine is still "quite a long way ahead". 

Alzheimer's May Quadruple by 2050

Last month I published a post about the alarming prevalence of Alzheimer's Disease in U.S. society.  Well, it appears that the global numbers are also staggering. 

John Hopkins University recently conducted a study which indicates that more than 26 million people suffer from Alzheimer's worldwide, and that number is expected to quadruple by 2050.  That would mean that one in 85 people would suffer from the disease.

China is the hardest-hit country with nearly one-half of the world's Alzheimer's cases.

The report will be formally presented at the Alzheimer's Association conference in Washington D.C. this Sunday.  Go to MSNBC for the full report.

Those Crazy Europeans!

This crazy story popped up on my Google Reader today, and since it has a very indirect connection to elder law I thought I would share it with readers. 

It looks like a Dutch television station is ready to launch "The Big Donor Show" in which a terminally ill person has to decide which of three young patients will receive her donated kidney.  Both of the country's political parties are demanding that the show be sacked.  But the broadcaster, BNN, is going to air it this Friday night anyway.  This show is from the creators of "Big Brother".  The full story is at BBC News.

I'm going to reserve editorial comments, but perhaps the not-so-obvious benefit of the show is that it will certainly draw attention to the worldwide shortage of organ donations.

While we're on the subject, please take a few moments to look this blog called, Give a Kidney.  The author is Harry Kiernan, owner of HarryCo and a very active member of the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce.  His blog is a humorous and compelling account of an enormous act of kindness.

Thanks for Supporting "Team Jake"!

This post is an enormous "thank you" to all those who sponsored me in the Brain Tumor Society's 50-mile "Ride for Research" which took place in Waltham, Massachusetts yesterday.  The local Glastonbury community really pulled together this year for Jake Gainey, a local 7 year-old boy who suffers from a pediatric brain tumor and assembled nearly 100 riders to form "Team Jake".  I was able to collect just over $1,200 for the cause, Team Jake collected over $152,000 (2nd most successful team in the event) and the event itself generated approximately $1.3 million for brian tumor research! 

This was my first experience participating in a charity bike ride and despite the cold, rainy conditions, it was still a great day.  I was able to chat with many people who have been touched by brain tumors in one way or another and they all had sad yet inspiring stories.  If you're interested, I have published a more detailed post on my experiences yesterday on my Glastonbury Running Blog.

Thanks again!  The word on the street is that Team Jake will be back at the Ride for Research next year (Amy and I are going to switch roles with her riding and me watching the kids), so if you're interested in joining the team then start training...we'd love to have you!

I'm a Proud Bike-Commuter!

The efforts of the Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance (CCBA) to promote biking to work this week has successfully recruited at least one Glastonbury cyclist.  Cycle-commuting is an idea that I have been kicking around for quite a while but just never had the inspiration to actually start doing it.  But following the CCBA's bike-to-work initiative finally ended the procrastination and I officially started Wednesday.

Unfortunately, Wednesday was not the best day to start bike-commuting.  The morning ride was wonderful.  I especially enjoyed flying by cars that were backed up at the Route 17-Main Steet intersection.  Then the ride home was a nightmare.  Around 4:45pm I looked out my office window towards East Hartford and saw what appeared to be nightfall approaching quickly.  So I stepped up my efforts at getting my stuff together and dashed out the door with my bike as fast as I could.  I then hopped on the bike and sprinted toward South Glastonbury as hard as I could with the intention of somehow outriding the storm for the 3.5-mile distance home. 

I only got as far as the Hubbard Green before the rain started coming down in sheets.  That didn't bother me too much...I've ridden in the rain before and it's a bit miserable, but you can do it safely if you slow down.  It was really the thunder, lightning and cracking tree branches that started to bother me and I took shelter under the overhang at the Connecticut Audubon Society and hung out with the director, Judy Harper, for a little while.  About half an hour later, the sky was still rumbling but not as often, so I took my chances and jetted home.  Although I was still alive, Amy treated me to a tongue-lashing for my stupidity.

Then Thursday morning I rode to the fountain at the corner of Main & Hebron to check out the CCBA's Glastonbury bike-to-work event.  It drew about 20 people and I enjoyed hearing other cyclists' bike-commuting stories and learning about the town's bike path efforts while enjoying Dunkin Donuts coffee, muffins and bagels. It was a fun little event and it was nice to know that I was now part of another little, local fitness-oriented community.

If you'd like to get in some extra training time, save some gas, help save the environment by burning calories instead of fuel, and have fun passing idling motorists stuck in traffic then log onto the CCBA's website for some cycle-commuting tips and join the bike-to-work revolution!