A friend, a Scottish radiologist, used to remark on the number of patients whose scans he would examine, where the medical notes would begin: “This 60-something man was just trying to ...
” The dot dot dot would often involve intrepid souls losing their balance on a ladder, toppling off a roof, or otherwise coming to grief undertaking tasks around the house, farm or garden which they’d once performed with nimble ease. Dr Michael Mosley in a series about battling insomnia and sleep apnoea. Credit: SBS Another mate, an emergency doctor on Sydney’s north shore, reports that his work last weekend was dominated by sporting injuries to 14-year-old boys and DIY injuries to men in their 60s.
A few years ago, my own partner was one of those men, falling off a ladder on a second-storey balcony while trying to saw off an overhanging tree branch. The much younger tree surgeon was due to come the following day, but what the heck, why wait? (Luckily a neighbour heard the thump that accompanied my partner’s fall and helped organise an ambulance. He returned home a few days later having recovered from concussion, but with pride severely dented.
) The doctors in the ER said they couldn’t count the number of times they’d treated men in their 60s presenting after similar mishaps. I couldn’t help reflecting on this following the untimely death of much-loved 67-year-old British TV doctor and popular health guru Michael Mosley, who perished after an ill-advised trek across the arid s.