August 6, 2024 • 37 mins
Today, Doug Pike interviews Bethany Williams, PhD about depression in the elderly community.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Remember when it was impossible to misplace the TV remote
because you were the TV remote. Remember when music sounded
like this, Remember when social media was truly social?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hey, John, how's it going today?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Well, this show is all about you die. This is
fifty plus with Doug Pike. Helpful information on your finances,
good health, and what to do for fun. Fifty plus
brought to you by the UT Health Houston Institute on Aging,
Informed Decisions for a healthier, happier life and Bronze roofing
(00:43):
repair or replacement. Bronze roofing has you covered? And now
fifty plus with Doug Pike.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
All right, off we go.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Thank you all for letting us into your Tuesday afternoon
and potential triple digit temperatures here a little later in
the day. Hey, more of the same for the rest
of the week. Two, So buckle up, sparky, it's summertime.
I'm surprised we made it this far. Really, We'll jump
on your microphone over there and tell me if you
(01:12):
had looked back in May. Let's go back to May
and somebody had come into the studio here just be
came bargeing in like they always do and just said, hey,
when do you think we're going to have our first
one hundred degree day. Would you have said in August
or July?
Speaker 4 (01:28):
I would have said in June.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
You know, it wouldn't have surprised me, honestly, wouldn't have
surprised me at.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
All, considering last year as well.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Oh, I know, well, and see that's that's what that's
what some people want you to believe, is that an
extreme in one year is a certainty of a even
of an even greater extreme in the following year, and
then in a greater extreme, on and on and on
ad nauseam, in perpetuity until you wake up February seventeenth
(01:59):
and it's a hunhundred and five, which not happening. But
let's don't let's just don't do that. By the way,
we missed a golden opportunity to do something. And I'm
not sure what yesterday, because yesterday, not today was National
Underwear Day.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Did you celebrate it all? And how if so?
Speaker 4 (02:21):
How? Oh I put on underwear yesterday, as you know.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
I did too, just to be just to be part
of the end crowd. Oh yeah, so off today though, yeah,
of course, no reason it's not National Underwear Day. What
were we what are you supposed to do on National
Underwear Day?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Will?
Speaker 5 (02:38):
Don't worry about it, Doug, don't worry about it.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Trying to think of Well, I'm not not really all right.
Let's move on, shall we. By the way, a little
piece of humor for you here, Will, And let me
just tell me after I finished this, this is one.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Of those bad jokes.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
But and you could rate these two kind of like
hies and lows in haiku. I want you to rate these, okay,
one to ten, same as the haikup, which I will
get to as soon as I read this, because I've
been wanting to do this all day long. As I age,
I remember all the people I've lost along the way.
Maybe being a tour guide wasn't the right choice for me.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
No, no, what do you think? That's bad?
Speaker 6 (03:23):
You know?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
All right?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
So let's move on from there.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
I don't know if I'm going to continue just pushing
those if I find what I consider to be good
ones and I feel like I have a reasonable a
reasonable shot as I compare one to the next at
this big list. I found of these things of knowing
which ones are worth even repeating which ones are worthy
(03:48):
of a six or higher score, and so.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
That's that's gonna be my goal at least a six.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
All right, So let's move into today's highs and lows
in Hikup. Courtesy is always of Texas into ear quality specialists,
because cleaner air is healthier air, and it always will
be ready will hit me, it's finally hot. Let's all
pray power stays on or early winter.
Speaker 7 (04:17):
Ooh oh, I'll say that one is a it's a
it's a six and a half.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Okay, okay? And what what kept it from being a seven?
Speaker 5 (04:33):
Where?
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Where do you?
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Where do you find this half point?
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Now?
Speaker 3 (04:37):
I think what held it back?
Speaker 8 (04:39):
I think you know it's I think it's just a feeling.
It was it felt like it was close to seven,
but it wasn't. You just couldn't go there.
Speaker 9 (04:52):
Yeah, you just couldn't spit out seven. You had to
go six and a half to go six and a half.
Women's surfing, Women's surfing on TV, not live. I don't
think they're about six. Well yet it could be it'd
be well, it'd be six or seven of the now. Actually,
I'm not exactly sure what time zone the surfing venue
is in, uh, because it's about I think three thousand
(05:14):
miles from Paris. Did you know that they're not just
doing it on the same They're not in a wave
pool on the same I did know that. The fortunate
part is that they have had an amazing break there
all week long. It's been some really really good competition
on excellent waves.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
And I only wish.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
I could turn back the clock about thirty or forty
years and go over there and surf that place. It's
just beautiful and big long lefts. And I'm what they
called you know what goofy foot means in surfing?
Speaker 4 (05:45):
Will no?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
That means. That means I, as a left handed person,
I lead with my right foot and not my left foot.
If you lead with you, if you're right handed, you
tend to lead with your right left foot on the board,
and if your left handed, you to leave with your
right foot. And that allows me on a wave that
breaks from right to left or left to right, it
(06:09):
allows me to face the wave as I serve it.
And yeah, I would love to have done that. Off
the market, will go now skipping alongside Houston Gold Exchange.
Yesterday's dreadful freefall, Oh my gosh, and I can there's
direct tie to what's going on in politics, and I'm
(06:32):
not gonna get into that again. This is gonna be
two days in a row will where we've backed away
from that. And I didn't even get to my one
little political story yesterday. I don't believe. I don't think
I did. If I did it, it was brief. I know
it would have been because I wrote it anyway. The
bottom line is the free fall was stemmed early this
morning by bargain hunters who pulled all the big indicators
(06:55):
back into the green, but not nearly so much as
to offset yesterday plummet.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
That was horrible.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
The DAL was down more than a thousand, I think
at one point, and now this morning up the major
indicators up percentage wise a point point and a half
something like that, but they were down three in change
at some points yesterday.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Oil Oil managed to say, hey, you're going up.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
We're going up north of seventy three dollars a barrel
and still climbing last time I looked, and gold, interestingly enough,
fell another twenty bucks or so, but was still around
twenty four to twenty about an hour ago. That's still
is a very significant price for gold. So go see
bread over to Houston. Gold Exchange. If you want to
(07:41):
move some of that stuff onward. We tried now and
again is with as little political stuff as possible, because
I do feel two things. Number One, that all of
you are capable of forming your own opinions and doing
your own research into which way you will just in November.
You're all entitled to your own vote, one per person,
(08:04):
although I am pretty concerned where. I saw a video
of a man walking through an apartment complex somewhere I
can't remember exactly where, asking the people in that apartment
complex first if they were registered to vote, and that Oh, yes, yes,
we are registered to vote.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Are you citizens of the United States?
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Oh no, no, no, no, we're not citizens, but we
are going to be voting in the presidential election. That
concerns me deeply. Kirk Holmbs is the place to start
your search for your dream home, especially if you intend
to build it anywhere on the north side of Houston,
northwest side of Houston, all the way out through the
(08:48):
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there and back here. Kirkcolmbs has been doing this for
three generations. They're quite good at what they do. They
have a wheelhouse of about seven hundred thousand to maybe
a million two million, four somewhere in there, and a
(09:08):
beautiful dream home is worth every penny of whatever you
put into it. They're the twenty twenty four Southern Living
Builder of the Year. That's a credential that only one
builder annually can hold, and it's held currently by Kirkholmes,
has been all year. They are for an industry leading
twenty year structural warranty that's twice the standard actually, and
(09:30):
two by six exterior walls to better insulate that beautiful
home of yours from the harshest sides of our seasons.
Kirkholmes dot com is the website. Check in with their
architectural team, check in with their design team. They will
help you as little or as much as you like
toward completion of your dream home. Kirkholmes dot com. That's
(09:53):
ky you are k because at Kirkholmes it's all about you.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
What's life without a net?
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Just to go to bed and sleep it off, Just.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Wait until the show's over.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
Sleepy.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Back to Doug Pike as fifty plus continues.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
All right, Welcome back to fifty plus.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Thanks as always for sharing your afternoon with me, sharing
your lunch hour. We'll talk in this segment about something that, well,
I'll say, finally it's finally getting the recognition it has
always deserved, but until fairly recently, it wasn't talked about
much publicly, wasn't brought up in casual conversation anywhere. And
(10:45):
that's depression, and particularly depression among older adults. And to
help me with this, I'm going to bring in doctor
Bethany Williams, a clinical neuropsychologist and Associate professor in the
Department of Neurology at Government Medical School at ut Health
Science Center and a board member of the Houston Neuropsychological Society.
Speaker 10 (11:07):
Welcome aboard, Hi, Good afternoon everyone, Thank.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
You, thank you so much. So let's start with an
overview of just how common depression in any shape or
form or levels of severity. How common is depression among
older adults.
Speaker 10 (11:23):
Well, you know, it's fairly prevalent, and it depends on
different factors. So for our older adults who are community based,
they're living at home, they're independent, their risk is about
one percent of five percent, okay, But for those individuals
with more health problems, for example, those who need home
health care, for example, they're at about a thirteen and
a half percent risk, So that number goes up dramatically,
(11:46):
and for our older adults who are hospitalized, we're looking
at about eleven and a half percent likelihood of developing depression. Unfortunately.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Yeah, it's sad, obviously, but it's pretty apparent why. It's
because I would present that they feel that they're kind
of less capable than everybody else around them, and and
since it's medical and they're doing everything they can, but
maybe not getting better fast enough or not getting better
at all.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
That would that would just about bring anybody down, would
it not?
Speaker 10 (12:16):
Oh? Yeah, absolutely, you know. I tell the older adults
who work with me, you know, give yourself some grace
and give yourself time. We know that as the years
go on, we all, you know, just physically we're not
as as as maybe as healthy. We start to develop
multiple chronic medical problems. And we know that as these
(12:36):
these age related changes and our bodies occur, the prevalence
of depression increases.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
So just.
Speaker 10 (12:44):
Move through life with understanding that our bodies change, our
minds change. Emotionally, we change, and that's okay. Give yourself
that space to accept that and to just have grace
for yourself as you.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Go through it, and so many other events in life
can and can turn somebody into it. It can take
somebody down that rabbit hole. I can think of a
half a dozen that's stuff like just isolation, or loss
of a spouse, or even a pet, financial struggle. There's
and this is one that I don't here mentioned very often,
but I talked to Jason Jason Burnett and I talk
(13:21):
about how seniors can get scammed and feel so embarrassed
that they just kind of withdraw and don't want to
even talk about it. But all of that should be
talked about. It should be talked about openly to help
get past it right.
Speaker 10 (13:34):
Yes, absolutely, you know it's so vital that we reach
out to our support system. You know you're going through
these changes. You know when you start to notice that
you were drawing from social life, you're not as physically active,
you're having trouble sleeping, you're isolating from people, You develop
these significant medical conditions or have a medical crisis, you
(13:57):
move towards these major life changes like retirement. Please reach
out to your support system, let them know. You know,
I'm going through these changes in my life and I
need someone to talk to I need some of the
process this with Please do not feel afraid of being
judged or you know, sometimes I'll hear from from my
patients that they feel that having those conversations is a
(14:18):
sign of weakness. Absolutely, reach out to those people who
you know care about you, who love you and just
really want the absolute best for you.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Early symptoms if somebody is listening as as a caregiver
or as a child of an older parent, what are
the earliest signs that something's wrong.
Speaker 10 (14:38):
Oh, you know when you start to notice that your
loved one is starting to withdraw from family life. You know,
the mom's not going out to the golf course with
with you know, her friend's as often, dad staying home
in front of the TV all the time. You know,
someone sleeping for hours a day. They're they're not you know,
they're wearing the same clothes every day, not bathing or
(15:00):
styling their hair. They're losing their appetite and they're losing weight.
And it's not intentional, right, you know, they seem anxious
or worried all the time.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
I don't have that problem.
Speaker 6 (15:10):
I don't me even thankfully, you want to look for
those signs and just say, well, there's something different about
this person, and I'm really concerned.
Speaker 10 (15:22):
About that, and just reach out and talk to them
about well, you know, here's what I'm noticing, and I
just want to get your thoughts about that.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Doctor Bethany Williams on fifty plus. Even I know better
than to tell somebody who's depressed to pull themselves up
by their own bootstraps. What's the best way to kind
of start this conversation with somebody we care about.
Speaker 10 (15:40):
So, you know, again, just checking in with them. I
think sometimes what can be so hard for us in
this changing society where everyone's on the phone or online,
you know, we're on social media. It's picking up the
phone and just saying, hi, I just want to check in.
How are you doing? You know, go to someone's house
and sit with them. We know that isolation is endemic
(16:00):
amongst our older adults. You know, stop over and have
a conversation. Just take a little time.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I'm going to presume there are a lot of medications
out there that can help with depression. How as as doctors,
does the medical field determine which mad is best for
which patient, So it depends on different factors.
Speaker 10 (16:19):
Part of it is, you know what are your symptoms.
For example, with a patient who's lost their appetite, someone
might prescribe any typical antidepressant like mertacipine. You know, if
it's someone who who's in pain, provide a doctor might
prescribe a selected serotonin reuptake inhibitor or what we call
an SSRII or an SNRI E serotonin or I beenefferine
(16:43):
reuptake in hibert or like symbolta to help with pain.
If someone's having trouble sleeping, they might prescribe one of
the old school antidepressants, what we call it tricyclics. It's
something that can help you sleep, maybe help with headaches,
help with pain. So your health care providers looking at
it from that angle, are we dealing with just a
symptom of depression, just the feeling or these other symptoms
(17:05):
that accompany the depression that the medication can also help.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
To treat In treatment of this, is this work down
to about a minute. But is this something that can
be treated and fixed permanently or is it something where
you may have to be on the meads for a
very long time.
Speaker 10 (17:21):
So I think it depends on the patient. For some people,
they just need something temporary, something for a few months,
and they're they're just fine. For others of us, it's
more of a neurotransmitter issue, and we really need to
stay on the medications for for quite a while. If
you're on a medication that that isn't effective for you,
there are other treatments available, like electric convulsive therapy transcreno
(17:44):
magnetic stimulation. There's also psychotherapy. The medication does a great
job of working on neurotransmitters, but sometimes we need someone
to talk to to say, this is what I'm dealing with.
I need someone to help me process that, to problem
solve it, to figure out how to change the way
I'm thinking that contributes to the depression. So in that case,
a psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, or some other
(18:08):
mental health care professional would be the best option.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
For that was absolutely perfect. Bethany Williams, pH D. Doctor
Bethany Williams, thank you so very much. I think what
I'm taking away from this is talk about it, talk
about it with somebody, with anybody. Yes, absolutely, all right,
Thank you so very much, doctor. I appreciate that.
Speaker 10 (18:28):
Oh you're welcome with that's.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Very good stuff.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
All right, we got to take a little break here
on the way out. Let me tell you about a
late health. A late health is a vascular actually clinics.
It's not a place. It's places around town where you
can get a variety of issues dealt with once and
for all.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
The procedure they do most often is on men.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
It's called prostate artery embolization for those of us who
have enlarged noncancerous prostates. Symptoms usually show up around fifty
to fifty five somewhere in there, and the older you get,
the worso's symptoms can get. If you're dealing with that,
you don't have to go to a late health. Let
them help you with that. With about two hours in clinic,
(19:14):
you will be able to What they'll do is identify
the specific artery that is supplying that prostate with blood.
Blood keeps it alive. They shut that thing off. They
turn it off like a faucet. No more blood to it.
It cannot continue to grow, it cannot continue to bother
you anymore. Same with fibroids and women, Same with ugly
(19:34):
veins and anyone. Same even in some instances with head
pain that can also be alleviated by shutting off. Just
the right little supply. A late health's been around a
long time, very good at what they do. Most of
what they do is covered by Medicare and Medicaid as well.
They're also doing regenerative medicine, which is fantastic for alleviating
(19:56):
chronic pain and helping restore joints.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
It's been around quite a while now.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
They're very good at what they do with regenerative medicine.
Of the Late Health, I encourage you, if you suffer
from chronic pain, to get online maybe schedule a consultation.
Seven one three five eight eight thirty eight eighty eight.
The website is a latehealth dot com that's a L
A T E alatehealth dot com seven one three five
(20:21):
eight eight thirty eight eighty eight.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Aged to Perfection. This is fifty plus with Doug Pike.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
All right, welcome back, Thank you for listening, Thanks for
allowing Will and Me into your lives. Today and most
weekdays except Fridays. Friday's my new day off, Friday's my
new Monday. I don't know what met that makes the
rest of the days a week Saturday and so still
the same. I still do my outdoor shows over on
kb ME on those two mornings, not terribly early. The
(21:06):
sun is pretty much almost up on Saturday and is
up on Sunday when I start my shows. So a
very civilized approach to the out of doors. Onward, we
will trod here with the decided lean into things we
can learn together that might make us what happier, healthier
than we were this morning. I'm gonna start with a
story all the way from China, and I told Will
(21:29):
about it during the break, and I think it got
his attention, as it did mine. A surgeon there used
a super high tech control center in one city and
surgical robotics three thousand miles away in another city, big
country China to actually remove a tumor from a patient's lung,
(21:56):
all with robotics. Imagine the possible in the future when
travel is no longer a prerequisite to obtain the services
of the most skilled surgeon in the field. You need
surgery nearly anywhere in the world. There are shortages in
(22:20):
the surgical world. That story mentioned that sometimes of surgeon,
sometimes a caesiologists, and they occur in countries of all
economic standing. It's not limited to the richest or forest countries.
But the ability to get such delicate surgeries done remotely
(22:41):
could really bridge a vital gap in the near future.
I'm sure that that equipment is not inexpensive, not like
you're doing a zoom call or a team's call. But
the fact that it was done successfully from three thousand
miles away opens an awful lot of doors to better
(23:01):
medical care in the future. This pen of mine has finally,
I think given up the ghost will I don't think
there's a nano drop of ink in it. I'll move
to the I'll move to the backup pen. And here,
which somebody, by the way must have put tape around
at some point, has got a big old sticky section
in the middle. I'm hoping it's just tape up. In Maine,
(23:22):
birds quite thrilled to learn that. And hinga, which is
a relative of the cormorant, which I absolutely despise because
they devastate fisheries wherever they congregate. Maine got its first
and hinga sighting recently, and people just couldn't wait to
get pictures of it. There were forty or fifty people
who actually snapped photos of it wherever it was. I'm
(23:45):
betting they're going to change their tunes if if more
like maybe the tens of thousands of these birds in
their cousins on Texas lakes and and even down all
the way to the coast. They'll have a different opinion
of those birds once they start gobbling up all the
shad and the rivers throughout the state, once they start
eating juvenile stripe bass and whatever other fish they can catch.
(24:09):
I've witnessed the damage these birds do, especially the cormorants.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
They do it. I've witnessed it firsthand.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
They utterly and simply and efficiently destroy fisheries large and small.
They have been federally protected for quite a long time,
and finally the regulations have loosened a bit, at least
to where there are opportunities for those who need them to.
(24:41):
I'll just say, remove some of those cormorants. On a
less frightening bird note, Also back up in Maine and
back from a couple of years ago, Maine birders were
treated to a spotting of something called a Stellar's sea eagle,
lost on its way back or two or between wherever
(25:05):
it was and Russia. It's it's home turf. A really
cool big bird. This thing has an eight foot wingspan
will that's almost as wide as this room. An eight
foot wingspan on a bird, I think that's pretty cool.
I don't think I've ever seen one that big. I
think a bald eagle is about a six or seven
foot wingspan somewhere in there.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
I don't know that.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
They get to eight, but anyway, that's cool.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
In more medical news, by the way, I found this
very fascinating as well and uplifting for the future, a
team at Georgia Tech has developed a trachial sprint not
sprint splint. I've been watching too much Olympics track coverage.
A tracheal splint three D printed, by the way, that
(25:51):
is being called a groundbreaking new treatment for a rare
birth defect of the windpipe. They're made from biodegrade components.
To think about this, the splint is positioned and lasts
long enough for the patient's cartilage to form back to
(26:12):
normal confines, and then that splint is ultimately absorbed into
the body or may our generation set yours in mind
have witnessed some really amazing medical advances, no question about it.
Artificial hearts, artificial transplanting, all of this stuff that we've
seen come along in our lifetimes. But three D printing
(26:35):
of something that does its job and then just disappears
on its own, is absorbed by its host.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Is that's that's next level stuff, it really is. I've
got space. How much time do I have?
Speaker 4 (26:50):
Will you have a minute? Fifteen?
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Oh? I can do. I'll do.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
We'll tell you what.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
Let's do some fun stuff and then I promise when
we come back, I'll have.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Some space news for you.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Will Are you thrilled about that?
Speaker 6 (27:03):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (27:03):
I know you are. Okay, here we go. Will theirs
are bigger and this is not a pole vaulting story.
Let's make a deal or way too high, let's make
a deal. In a new report, sixty percent of people
believe they can find a deal on anything.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
Which do you think you can do that?
Speaker 6 (27:27):
No?
Speaker 4 (27:27):
I'm horrible at finding ar Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
The Internet's made it a little bit easier to find stuff,
but you have to beware when you buy on the
internet because all that glitters is not gold.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
I always you know it when you're checking out and
it says how much you want to pay the full moment,
I always put I want to.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Pay more, a little bit more.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
Yeah, I just want to give my money away.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
God, will you know somehow I don't doubt that the
average post purchase buzz, by the way, last two hundred
and sixteen minutes, which is about three and a half hours.
And then you're just like, I'm over this thing that
I bought, and then it shows up four days later
because you don't have a prime membership to Amazon, which
(28:08):
I do.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
By the way, I.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
Find that just just it just tickles me to no
end to be able to order some things at four
o'clock in the afternoon and occasionally they'll show up before
the sun goes down.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
It's just crazy how fast they can get that stuff
out of there.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Sometimes. By the way, that bigger thing, that bigger story,
one hundred and twelve world capitals that have larger populations
than Washington, d C.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
I thought Washington d C was pretty big.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
Apparently not when compared to one hundred and twelve other
world capitals. So let's take a break, shall we. Ut
Hel Institute on Aging has been helping seniors like you,
like me to get better care, to get more specific care,
care from every facet of the medical industry, every type
(29:08):
of provider, every type of therapist, every type of trainer.
Each of these people who are members of the ut
Health Institute on Aging go back and get additional education
as to how they can apply their knowledge and their
level of expertise specifically to seniors. That's a pretty good
feeling to know that the person who is treating you
(29:30):
cares enough to have gone back and found out how
to specifically care for you.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
There's a ton of resource that.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
There are many resources, i'll say more correctly, many opportunities
to learn more about your own body and about seniors'
bodies in general, and about how to get better and
live longer and happier. All these resources are available at
the website and access to all those providers. Go to it.
(29:59):
Go to the website ut dot.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Edu slash aging, ut dot edu slash aging. Well, they
sure don't make them like they used to.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
That's why every few months we wash them, check his
fluids and spring on a fresh cod o wax. This
is fifty plus with Doug Pike. Hi, welcome back.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Thanks for listening to us here today on fifty plus.
I appreciate it, certainly do will were you able to
find that already fantastic. We're gonna give a little since
we're staring at the Olympics here in the studio, we're
gonna get a little update on the on the current
medal winnings. Who's ahead, will who has the most overall?
Speaker 2 (30:49):
It's got to be us.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
Still most overall is the United States with seventy nine
total medals, twenty one in gold, old thirty in silver,
and twenty eight in bronze, and second China still in
second place. We have the People's Republic of China. We
(31:12):
have more goals or today at present, they have twenty
two goals and we had twenty one. They have nineteen
silvers and fourteen bronze with a grand total of fifty
five medals.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Thank you, any other relevant things. They're in third place.
We have many you want to do will for France. France,
really they've come a long way. They had a good
team going in overall, they had a lot of good
metal opportunities. How many goals do they have?
Speaker 5 (31:44):
They have thirteen goals, sixteen silvers, nineteen bronze with a
grand total of forty eight okay, in our grand total
seventy nine. Okay, So we're doing well. We're doing very.
Speaker 4 (31:56):
Well at the kind of blowing it out of the water.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Well, I feel like we should.
Speaker 4 (32:03):
And we're up by twenty four medals. That's pretty good.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
I think that's gonna I think that's gonna hold up. Yeah,
the pre lim of that four hundred right there got
our guy in, so he'll be competing soon.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Back to my space news.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
By the way, we'll nerd news. It's not nerd news really.
The space exploration is becoming more mainstream now that it's
becoming more of a possibility, although we do I believe
still have people stuck kind of on the space station
and in desperate need of a way to get at
least one of them back pretty soon, so I'll double
(32:42):
check on that. I may talk about that tomorrow because
I read something yesterday about it and it concerned me
deeply for them. I've actually seen this particular story a
couple of times now, but I'm sharing it today for
the first time. According to a study performed by legitimate
space scientists, the planet Mercury. Have you seen this story
(33:03):
will or heard about it? What Mercury has?
Speaker 5 (33:07):
What is mercury? No other planet has mercury. Mercury has mercury. No,
it doesn't. It might, but that's not what we're talking
about here.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
It is believed to have a layer of something of
value beneath its surface that is as much as eleven
miles thick for all the money in the world. And
the camper, what is that thing that it has beneath
its surface that is eleven miles potentially thick thick?
Speaker 2 (33:37):
What do they have?
Speaker 4 (33:38):
Ice?
Speaker 6 (33:39):
No?
Speaker 2 (33:39):
Oh, no, well.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
You could almost get me on a technicality. Diamonds. Diamond
that is alleged that mercury has a layer of diamonds
beneath its surface that could be as much as eleven
miles thick.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
And one of the.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
Researchers, it was kind of funny, he actually said, made
me really He said, they knew there was a lot
of carbon on Mercury's surface, which is an essential element
if you're gonna pack it real tight and make diamonds
out of it. Knew they had a lot of carbon,
but they hadn't really seen many studies done on the
inside of the planet. Really, we haven't studied the inside
(34:22):
of any other planet than our own, have we? Not
Not that I not that I would use to draw
absolutely one hundred percent accurate conclusions.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
Who knows what's inside those cadberry eggs? Who knows what's
really inside some of those things? We eat who knows.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Not diamond, not eleven miles of diamonds. Although if that's
really true, someday little earth kids well living on Mars
by then, maybe even born on Mars in fifteen to
twenty generations on Mars. Instead of playing with marbles, will,
they're gonna start playing with bags full of polished, rounded diamonds,
(35:06):
flawless diamonds, because there'll be a nickel a dozen. They
won't even be a dime a dozen marble or diamonds
the side of size of bowling balls or bigger. In
New York City, and this is not a political story either.
This I found very interesting. These are mostly gonna be
(35:27):
conversation starters or stoppers. In New York City, an elderly
jewelry designer who has dined at a specific restaurant it's
called Serendipity three, been eating there for more than seventy years,
and was rewarded for her loyalty. Listen to this story,
will and tell me if you think this is really
(35:48):
a reward. Okay, she's been eating at this place for
seventy years, all right, and they rewarded her this week.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
By naming a Sunday after her.
Speaker 4 (36:00):
It's nice.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
It's nice, but what big deal they named it desert
for How about they give her one of those desserts
on the house every time she walked through the door.
Speaker 5 (36:09):
You know how she does. If the places that I
frequented regularly would name something after me.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
I would rather get.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
I would rather they just leave the name alone and
give me free food because I've been eating it for
seventy years. If they had a little punch card where
she got every tenth meal free, she'd probably own the place.
I didn't find that very impressive. Honestly, I'm kind of disappointed.
They made news for what they did, but they aren't
really rewarding the person in twenty second who gave the
(36:38):
story it select. Her name is Barbara Silverstein, by the way,
and her work has been displayed at the Museum of
Arts and Design in New York City and the Museum
of Fine Arts in Boston. And now she's got a
really cool Sunday. I saw a picture of it. It
looks delicious. I may have to fly up there and
eat one someday when I win the lottery.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
That's it for us today, Audios
Remember when it was impossible to misplace the TV remote
because you were the TV remote. Remember when music sounded
like this, Remember when social media was truly social?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hey, John, how's it going today?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Well, this show is all about you die. This is
fifty plus with Doug Pike. Helpful information on your finances,
good health, and what to do for fun. Fifty plus
brought to you by the UT Health Houston Institute on Aging,
Informed Decisions for a healthier, happier life and Bronze roofing
(00:43):
repair or replacement. Bronze roofing has you covered? And now
fifty plus with Doug Pike.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
All right, off we go.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Thank you all for letting us into your Tuesday afternoon
and potential triple digit temperatures here a little later in
the day. Hey, more of the same for the rest
of the week. Two, So buckle up, sparky, it's summertime.
I'm surprised we made it this far. Really, We'll jump
on your microphone over there and tell me if you
(01:12):
had looked back in May. Let's go back to May
and somebody had come into the studio here just be
came bargeing in like they always do and just said, hey,
when do you think we're going to have our first
one hundred degree day. Would you have said in August
or July?
Speaker 4 (01:28):
I would have said in June.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
You know, it wouldn't have surprised me, honestly, wouldn't have
surprised me at.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
All, considering last year as well.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Oh, I know, well, and see that's that's what that's
what some people want you to believe, is that an
extreme in one year is a certainty of a even
of an even greater extreme in the following year, and
then in a greater extreme, on and on and on
ad nauseam, in perpetuity until you wake up February seventeenth
(01:59):
and it's a hunhundred and five, which not happening. But
let's don't let's just don't do that. By the way,
we missed a golden opportunity to do something. And I'm
not sure what yesterday, because yesterday, not today was National
Underwear Day.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Did you celebrate it all? And how if so?
Speaker 4 (02:21):
How? Oh I put on underwear yesterday, as you know.
Speaker 3 (02:24):
I did too, just to be just to be part
of the end crowd. Oh yeah, so off today though, yeah,
of course, no reason it's not National Underwear Day. What
were we what are you supposed to do on National
Underwear Day?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Will?
Speaker 5 (02:38):
Don't worry about it, Doug, don't worry about it.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Trying to think of Well, I'm not not really all right.
Let's move on, shall we. By the way, a little
piece of humor for you here, Will, And let me
just tell me after I finished this, this is one.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Of those bad jokes.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
But and you could rate these two kind of like
hies and lows in haiku. I want you to rate these, okay,
one to ten, same as the haikup, which I will
get to as soon as I read this, because I've
been wanting to do this all day long. As I age,
I remember all the people I've lost along the way.
Maybe being a tour guide wasn't the right choice for me.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
No, no, what do you think? That's bad?
Speaker 6 (03:23):
You know?
Speaker 4 (03:26):
All right?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
So let's move on from there.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
I don't know if I'm going to continue just pushing
those if I find what I consider to be good
ones and I feel like I have a reasonable a
reasonable shot as I compare one to the next at
this big list. I found of these things of knowing
which ones are worth even repeating which ones are worthy
(03:48):
of a six or higher score, and so.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
That's that's gonna be my goal at least a six.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
All right, So let's move into today's highs and lows
in Hikup. Courtesy is always of Texas into ear quality specialists,
because cleaner air is healthier air, and it always will
be ready will hit me, it's finally hot. Let's all
pray power stays on or early winter.
Speaker 7 (04:17):
Ooh oh, I'll say that one is a it's a
it's a six and a half.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Okay, okay? And what what kept it from being a seven?
Speaker 5 (04:33):
Where?
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Where do you?
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Where do you find this half point?
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Now?
Speaker 3 (04:37):
I think what held it back?
Speaker 8 (04:39):
I think you know it's I think it's just a feeling.
It was it felt like it was close to seven,
but it wasn't. You just couldn't go there.
Speaker 9 (04:52):
Yeah, you just couldn't spit out seven. You had to
go six and a half to go six and a half.
Women's surfing, Women's surfing on TV, not live. I don't
think they're about six. Well yet it could be it'd
be well, it'd be six or seven of the now. Actually,
I'm not exactly sure what time zone the surfing venue
is in, uh, because it's about I think three thousand
(05:14):
miles from Paris. Did you know that they're not just
doing it on the same They're not in a wave
pool on the same I did know that. The fortunate
part is that they have had an amazing break there
all week long. It's been some really really good competition
on excellent waves.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
And I only wish.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
I could turn back the clock about thirty or forty
years and go over there and surf that place. It's
just beautiful and big long lefts. And I'm what they
called you know what goofy foot means in surfing?
Speaker 4 (05:45):
Will no?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
That means. That means I, as a left handed person,
I lead with my right foot and not my left foot.
If you lead with you, if you're right handed, you
tend to lead with your right left foot on the board,
and if your left handed, you to leave with your
right foot. And that allows me on a wave that
breaks from right to left or left to right, it
(06:09):
allows me to face the wave as I serve it.
And yeah, I would love to have done that. Off
the market, will go now skipping alongside Houston Gold Exchange.
Yesterday's dreadful freefall, Oh my gosh, and I can there's
direct tie to what's going on in politics, and I'm
(06:32):
not gonna get into that again. This is gonna be
two days in a row will where we've backed away
from that. And I didn't even get to my one
little political story yesterday. I don't believe. I don't think
I did. If I did it, it was brief. I know
it would have been because I wrote it anyway. The
bottom line is the free fall was stemmed early this
morning by bargain hunters who pulled all the big indicators
(06:55):
back into the green, but not nearly so much as
to offset yesterday plummet.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
That was horrible.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
The DAL was down more than a thousand, I think
at one point, and now this morning up the major
indicators up percentage wise a point point and a half
something like that, but they were down three in change
at some points yesterday.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Oil Oil managed to say, hey, you're going up.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
We're going up north of seventy three dollars a barrel
and still climbing last time I looked, and gold, interestingly enough,
fell another twenty bucks or so, but was still around
twenty four to twenty about an hour ago. That's still
is a very significant price for gold. So go see
bread over to Houston. Gold Exchange. If you want to
(07:41):
move some of that stuff onward. We tried now and
again is with as little political stuff as possible, because
I do feel two things. Number One, that all of
you are capable of forming your own opinions and doing
your own research into which way you will just in November.
You're all entitled to your own vote, one per person,
(08:04):
although I am pretty concerned where. I saw a video
of a man walking through an apartment complex somewhere I
can't remember exactly where, asking the people in that apartment
complex first if they were registered to vote, and that Oh, yes, yes,
we are registered to vote.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Are you citizens of the United States?
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Oh no, no, no, no, we're not citizens, but we
are going to be voting in the presidential election. That
concerns me deeply. Kirk Holmbs is the place to start
your search for your dream home, especially if you intend
to build it anywhere on the north side of Houston,
northwest side of Houston, all the way out through the
(08:48):
Hill Country, Austin, San Antonio College Station, all points between
there and back here. Kirkcolmbs has been doing this for
three generations. They're quite good at what they do. They
have a wheelhouse of about seven hundred thousand to maybe
a million two million, four somewhere in there, and a
(09:08):
beautiful dream home is worth every penny of whatever you
put into it. They're the twenty twenty four Southern Living
Builder of the Year. That's a credential that only one
builder annually can hold, and it's held currently by Kirkholmes,
has been all year. They are for an industry leading
twenty year structural warranty that's twice the standard actually, and
(09:30):
two by six exterior walls to better insulate that beautiful
home of yours from the harshest sides of our seasons.
Kirkholmes dot com is the website. Check in with their
architectural team, check in with their design team. They will
help you as little or as much as you like
toward completion of your dream home. Kirkholmes dot com. That's
(09:53):
ky you are k because at Kirkholmes it's all about you.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
What's life without a net?
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Just to go to bed and sleep it off, Just.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Wait until the show's over.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
Sleepy.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Back to Doug Pike as fifty plus continues.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
All right, Welcome back to fifty plus.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Thanks as always for sharing your afternoon with me, sharing
your lunch hour. We'll talk in this segment about something that, well,
I'll say, finally it's finally getting the recognition it has
always deserved, but until fairly recently, it wasn't talked about
much publicly, wasn't brought up in casual conversation anywhere. And
(10:45):
that's depression, and particularly depression among older adults. And to
help me with this, I'm going to bring in doctor
Bethany Williams, a clinical neuropsychologist and Associate professor in the
Department of Neurology at Government Medical School at ut Health
Science Center and a board member of the Houston Neuropsychological Society.
Speaker 10 (11:07):
Welcome aboard, Hi, Good afternoon everyone, Thank.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
You, thank you so much. So let's start with an
overview of just how common depression in any shape or
form or levels of severity. How common is depression among
older adults.
Speaker 10 (11:23):
Well, you know, it's fairly prevalent, and it depends on
different factors. So for our older adults who are community based,
they're living at home, they're independent, their risk is about
one percent of five percent, okay, But for those individuals
with more health problems, for example, those who need home
health care, for example, they're at about a thirteen and
a half percent risk, So that number goes up dramatically,
(11:46):
and for our older adults who are hospitalized, we're looking
at about eleven and a half percent likelihood of developing depression. Unfortunately.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Yeah, it's sad, obviously, but it's pretty apparent why. It's
because I would present that they feel that they're kind
of less capable than everybody else around them, and and
since it's medical and they're doing everything they can, but
maybe not getting better fast enough or not getting better
at all.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
That would that would just about bring anybody down, would
it not?
Speaker 10 (12:16):
Oh? Yeah, absolutely, you know. I tell the older adults
who work with me, you know, give yourself some grace
and give yourself time. We know that as the years
go on, we all, you know, just physically we're not
as as as maybe as healthy. We start to develop
multiple chronic medical problems. And we know that as these
(12:36):
these age related changes and our bodies occur, the prevalence
of depression increases.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
So just.
Speaker 10 (12:44):
Move through life with understanding that our bodies change, our
minds change. Emotionally, we change, and that's okay. Give yourself
that space to accept that and to just have grace
for yourself as you.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Go through it, and so many other events in life
can and can turn somebody into it. It can take
somebody down that rabbit hole. I can think of a
half a dozen that's stuff like just isolation, or loss
of a spouse, or even a pet, financial struggle. There's
and this is one that I don't here mentioned very often,
but I talked to Jason Jason Burnett and I talk
(13:21):
about how seniors can get scammed and feel so embarrassed
that they just kind of withdraw and don't want to
even talk about it. But all of that should be
talked about. It should be talked about openly to help
get past it right.
Speaker 10 (13:34):
Yes, absolutely, you know it's so vital that we reach
out to our support system. You know you're going through
these changes. You know when you start to notice that
you were drawing from social life, you're not as physically active,
you're having trouble sleeping, you're isolating from people, You develop
these significant medical conditions or have a medical crisis, you
(13:57):
move towards these major life changes like retirement. Please reach
out to your support system, let them know. You know,
I'm going through these changes in my life and I
need someone to talk to I need some of the
process this with Please do not feel afraid of being
judged or you know, sometimes I'll hear from from my
patients that they feel that having those conversations is a
(14:18):
sign of weakness. Absolutely, reach out to those people who
you know care about you, who love you and just
really want the absolute best for you.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Early symptoms if somebody is listening as as a caregiver
or as a child of an older parent, what are
the earliest signs that something's wrong.
Speaker 10 (14:38):
Oh, you know when you start to notice that your
loved one is starting to withdraw from family life. You know,
the mom's not going out to the golf course with
with you know, her friend's as often, dad staying home
in front of the TV all the time. You know,
someone sleeping for hours a day. They're they're not you know,
they're wearing the same clothes every day, not bathing or
(15:00):
styling their hair. They're losing their appetite and they're losing weight.
And it's not intentional, right, you know, they seem anxious
or worried all the time.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
I don't have that problem.
Speaker 6 (15:10):
I don't me even thankfully, you want to look for
those signs and just say, well, there's something different about
this person, and I'm really concerned.
Speaker 10 (15:22):
About that, and just reach out and talk to them
about well, you know, here's what I'm noticing, and I
just want to get your thoughts about that.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Doctor Bethany Williams on fifty plus. Even I know better
than to tell somebody who's depressed to pull themselves up
by their own bootstraps. What's the best way to kind
of start this conversation with somebody we care about.
Speaker 10 (15:40):
So, you know, again, just checking in with them. I
think sometimes what can be so hard for us in
this changing society where everyone's on the phone or online,
you know, we're on social media. It's picking up the
phone and just saying, hi, I just want to check in.
How are you doing? You know, go to someone's house
and sit with them. We know that isolation is endemic
(16:00):
amongst our older adults. You know, stop over and have
a conversation. Just take a little time.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I'm going to presume there are a lot of medications
out there that can help with depression. How as as doctors,
does the medical field determine which mad is best for
which patient, So it depends on different factors.
Speaker 10 (16:19):
Part of it is, you know what are your symptoms.
For example, with a patient who's lost their appetite, someone
might prescribe any typical antidepressant like mertacipine. You know, if
it's someone who who's in pain, provide a doctor might
prescribe a selected serotonin reuptake inhibitor or what we call
an SSRII or an SNRI E serotonin or I beenefferine
(16:43):
reuptake in hibert or like symbolta to help with pain.
If someone's having trouble sleeping, they might prescribe one of
the old school antidepressants, what we call it tricyclics. It's
something that can help you sleep, maybe help with headaches,
help with pain. So your health care providers looking at
it from that angle, are we dealing with just a
symptom of depression, just the feeling or these other symptoms
(17:05):
that accompany the depression that the medication can also help.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
To treat In treatment of this, is this work down
to about a minute. But is this something that can
be treated and fixed permanently or is it something where
you may have to be on the meads for a
very long time.
Speaker 10 (17:21):
So I think it depends on the patient. For some people,
they just need something temporary, something for a few months,
and they're they're just fine. For others of us, it's
more of a neurotransmitter issue, and we really need to
stay on the medications for for quite a while. If
you're on a medication that that isn't effective for you,
there are other treatments available, like electric convulsive therapy transcreno
(17:44):
magnetic stimulation. There's also psychotherapy. The medication does a great
job of working on neurotransmitters, but sometimes we need someone
to talk to to say, this is what I'm dealing with.
I need someone to help me process that, to problem
solve it, to figure out how to change the way
I'm thinking that contributes to the depression. So in that case,
a psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, or some other
(18:08):
mental health care professional would be the best option.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
For that was absolutely perfect. Bethany Williams, pH D. Doctor
Bethany Williams, thank you so very much. I think what
I'm taking away from this is talk about it, talk
about it with somebody, with anybody. Yes, absolutely, all right,
Thank you so very much, doctor. I appreciate that.
Speaker 10 (18:28):
Oh you're welcome with that's.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Very good stuff.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
All right, we got to take a little break here
on the way out. Let me tell you about a
late health. A late health is a vascular actually clinics.
It's not a place. It's places around town where you
can get a variety of issues dealt with once and
for all.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
The procedure they do most often is on men.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
It's called prostate artery embolization for those of us who
have enlarged noncancerous prostates. Symptoms usually show up around fifty
to fifty five somewhere in there, and the older you get,
the worso's symptoms can get. If you're dealing with that,
you don't have to go to a late health. Let
them help you with that. With about two hours in clinic,
(19:14):
you will be able to What they'll do is identify
the specific artery that is supplying that prostate with blood.
Blood keeps it alive. They shut that thing off. They
turn it off like a faucet. No more blood to it.
It cannot continue to grow, it cannot continue to bother
you anymore. Same with fibroids and women, Same with ugly
(19:34):
veins and anyone. Same even in some instances with head
pain that can also be alleviated by shutting off. Just
the right little supply. A late health's been around a
long time, very good at what they do. Most of
what they do is covered by Medicare and Medicaid as well.
They're also doing regenerative medicine, which is fantastic for alleviating
(19:56):
chronic pain and helping restore joints.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
It's been around quite a while now.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
They're very good at what they do with regenerative medicine.
Of the Late Health, I encourage you, if you suffer
from chronic pain, to get online maybe schedule a consultation.
Seven one three five eight eight thirty eight eighty eight.
The website is a latehealth dot com that's a L
A T E alatehealth dot com seven one three five
(20:21):
eight eight thirty eight eighty eight.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Aged to Perfection. This is fifty plus with Doug Pike.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
All right, welcome back, Thank you for listening, Thanks for
allowing Will and Me into your lives. Today and most
weekdays except Fridays. Friday's my new day off, Friday's my
new Monday. I don't know what met that makes the
rest of the days a week Saturday and so still
the same. I still do my outdoor shows over on
kb ME on those two mornings, not terribly early. The
(21:06):
sun is pretty much almost up on Saturday and is
up on Sunday when I start my shows. So a
very civilized approach to the out of doors. Onward, we
will trod here with the decided lean into things we
can learn together that might make us what happier, healthier
than we were this morning. I'm gonna start with a
story all the way from China, and I told Will
(21:29):
about it during the break, and I think it got
his attention, as it did mine. A surgeon there used
a super high tech control center in one city and
surgical robotics three thousand miles away in another city, big
country China to actually remove a tumor from a patient's lung,
(21:56):
all with robotics. Imagine the possible in the future when
travel is no longer a prerequisite to obtain the services
of the most skilled surgeon in the field. You need
surgery nearly anywhere in the world. There are shortages in
(22:20):
the surgical world. That story mentioned that sometimes of surgeon,
sometimes a caesiologists, and they occur in countries of all
economic standing. It's not limited to the richest or forest countries.
But the ability to get such delicate surgeries done remotely
(22:41):
could really bridge a vital gap in the near future.
I'm sure that that equipment is not inexpensive, not like
you're doing a zoom call or a team's call. But
the fact that it was done successfully from three thousand
miles away opens an awful lot of doors to better
(23:01):
medical care in the future. This pen of mine has finally,
I think given up the ghost will I don't think
there's a nano drop of ink in it. I'll move
to the I'll move to the backup pen. And here,
which somebody, by the way must have put tape around
at some point, has got a big old sticky section
in the middle. I'm hoping it's just tape up. In Maine,
(23:22):
birds quite thrilled to learn that. And hinga, which is
a relative of the cormorant, which I absolutely despise because
they devastate fisheries wherever they congregate. Maine got its first
and hinga sighting recently, and people just couldn't wait to
get pictures of it. There were forty or fifty people
who actually snapped photos of it wherever it was. I'm
(23:45):
betting they're going to change their tunes if if more
like maybe the tens of thousands of these birds in
their cousins on Texas lakes and and even down all
the way to the coast. They'll have a different opinion
of those birds once they start gobbling up all the
shad and the rivers throughout the state, once they start
eating juvenile stripe bass and whatever other fish they can catch.
(24:09):
I've witnessed the damage these birds do, especially the cormorants.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
They do it. I've witnessed it firsthand.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
They utterly and simply and efficiently destroy fisheries large and small.
They have been federally protected for quite a long time,
and finally the regulations have loosened a bit, at least
to where there are opportunities for those who need them to.
(24:41):
I'll just say, remove some of those cormorants. On a
less frightening bird note, Also back up in Maine and
back from a couple of years ago, Maine birders were
treated to a spotting of something called a Stellar's sea eagle,
lost on its way back or two or between wherever
(25:05):
it was and Russia. It's it's home turf. A really
cool big bird. This thing has an eight foot wingspan
will that's almost as wide as this room. An eight
foot wingspan on a bird, I think that's pretty cool.
I don't think I've ever seen one that big. I
think a bald eagle is about a six or seven
foot wingspan somewhere in there.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
I don't know that.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
They get to eight, but anyway, that's cool.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
In more medical news, by the way, I found this
very fascinating as well and uplifting for the future, a
team at Georgia Tech has developed a trachial sprint not
sprint splint. I've been watching too much Olympics track coverage.
A tracheal splint three D printed, by the way, that
(25:51):
is being called a groundbreaking new treatment for a rare
birth defect of the windpipe. They're made from biodegrade components.
To think about this, the splint is positioned and lasts
long enough for the patient's cartilage to form back to
(26:12):
normal confines, and then that splint is ultimately absorbed into
the body or may our generation set yours in mind
have witnessed some really amazing medical advances, no question about it.
Artificial hearts, artificial transplanting, all of this stuff that we've
seen come along in our lifetimes. But three D printing
(26:35):
of something that does its job and then just disappears
on its own, is absorbed by its host.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Is that's that's next level stuff, it really is. I've
got space. How much time do I have?
Speaker 4 (26:50):
Will you have a minute? Fifteen?
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Oh? I can do. I'll do.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
We'll tell you what.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
Let's do some fun stuff and then I promise when
we come back, I'll have.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Some space news for you.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Will Are you thrilled about that?
Speaker 6 (27:03):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (27:03):
I know you are. Okay, here we go. Will theirs
are bigger and this is not a pole vaulting story.
Let's make a deal or way too high, let's make
a deal. In a new report, sixty percent of people
believe they can find a deal on anything.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
Which do you think you can do that?
Speaker 6 (27:27):
No?
Speaker 4 (27:27):
I'm horrible at finding ar Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
The Internet's made it a little bit easier to find stuff,
but you have to beware when you buy on the
internet because all that glitters is not gold.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
I always you know it when you're checking out and
it says how much you want to pay the full moment,
I always put I want to.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Pay more, a little bit more.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
Yeah, I just want to give my money away.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
God, will you know somehow I don't doubt that the
average post purchase buzz, by the way, last two hundred
and sixteen minutes, which is about three and a half hours.
And then you're just like, I'm over this thing that
I bought, and then it shows up four days later
because you don't have a prime membership to Amazon, which
(28:08):
I do.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
By the way, I.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
Find that just just it just tickles me to no
end to be able to order some things at four
o'clock in the afternoon and occasionally they'll show up before
the sun goes down.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
It's just crazy how fast they can get that stuff
out of there.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Sometimes. By the way, that bigger thing, that bigger story,
one hundred and twelve world capitals that have larger populations
than Washington, d C.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
I thought Washington d C was pretty big.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
Apparently not when compared to one hundred and twelve other
world capitals. So let's take a break, shall we. Ut
Hel Institute on Aging has been helping seniors like you,
like me to get better care, to get more specific care,
care from every facet of the medical industry, every type
(29:08):
of provider, every type of therapist, every type of trainer.
Each of these people who are members of the ut
Health Institute on Aging go back and get additional education
as to how they can apply their knowledge and their
level of expertise specifically to seniors. That's a pretty good
feeling to know that the person who is treating you
(29:30):
cares enough to have gone back and found out how
to specifically care for you.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
There's a ton of resource that.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
There are many resources, i'll say more correctly, many opportunities
to learn more about your own body and about seniors'
bodies in general, and about how to get better and
live longer and happier. All these resources are available at
the website and access to all those providers. Go to it.
(29:59):
Go to the website ut dot.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
Edu slash aging, ut dot edu slash aging. Well, they
sure don't make them like they used to.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
That's why every few months we wash them, check his
fluids and spring on a fresh cod o wax. This
is fifty plus with Doug Pike. Hi, welcome back.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Thanks for listening to us here today on fifty plus.
I appreciate it, certainly do will were you able to
find that already fantastic. We're gonna give a little since
we're staring at the Olympics here in the studio, we're
gonna get a little update on the on the current
medal winnings. Who's ahead, will who has the most overall?
Speaker 2 (30:49):
It's got to be us.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
Still most overall is the United States with seventy nine
total medals, twenty one in gold, old thirty in silver,
and twenty eight in bronze, and second China still in
second place. We have the People's Republic of China. We
(31:12):
have more goals or today at present, they have twenty
two goals and we had twenty one. They have nineteen
silvers and fourteen bronze with a grand total of fifty
five medals.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Thank you, any other relevant things. They're in third place.
We have many you want to do will for France. France,
really they've come a long way. They had a good
team going in overall, they had a lot of good
metal opportunities. How many goals do they have?
Speaker 5 (31:44):
They have thirteen goals, sixteen silvers, nineteen bronze with a
grand total of forty eight okay, in our grand total
seventy nine. Okay, So we're doing well. We're doing very.
Speaker 4 (31:56):
Well at the kind of blowing it out of the water.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Well, I feel like we should.
Speaker 4 (32:03):
And we're up by twenty four medals. That's pretty good.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
I think that's gonna I think that's gonna hold up. Yeah,
the pre lim of that four hundred right there got
our guy in, so he'll be competing soon.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Back to my space news.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
By the way, we'll nerd news. It's not nerd news really.
The space exploration is becoming more mainstream now that it's
becoming more of a possibility, although we do I believe
still have people stuck kind of on the space station
and in desperate need of a way to get at
least one of them back pretty soon, so I'll double
(32:42):
check on that. I may talk about that tomorrow because
I read something yesterday about it and it concerned me
deeply for them. I've actually seen this particular story a
couple of times now, but I'm sharing it today for
the first time. According to a study performed by legitimate
space scientists, the planet Mercury. Have you seen this story
(33:03):
will or heard about it? What Mercury has?
Speaker 5 (33:07):
What is mercury? No other planet has mercury. Mercury has mercury. No,
it doesn't. It might, but that's not what we're talking
about here.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
It is believed to have a layer of something of
value beneath its surface that is as much as eleven
miles thick for all the money in the world. And
the camper, what is that thing that it has beneath
its surface that is eleven miles potentially thick thick?
Speaker 2 (33:37):
What do they have?
Speaker 4 (33:38):
Ice?
Speaker 6 (33:39):
No?
Speaker 2 (33:39):
Oh, no, well.
Speaker 3 (33:42):
You could almost get me on a technicality. Diamonds. Diamond
that is alleged that mercury has a layer of diamonds
beneath its surface that could be as much as eleven
miles thick.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
And one of the.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
Researchers, it was kind of funny, he actually said, made
me really He said, they knew there was a lot
of carbon on Mercury's surface, which is an essential element
if you're gonna pack it real tight and make diamonds
out of it. Knew they had a lot of carbon,
but they hadn't really seen many studies done on the
inside of the planet. Really, we haven't studied the inside
(34:22):
of any other planet than our own, have we? Not
Not that I not that I would use to draw
absolutely one hundred percent accurate conclusions.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
Who knows what's inside those cadberry eggs? Who knows what's
really inside some of those things? We eat who knows.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
Not diamond, not eleven miles of diamonds. Although if that's
really true, someday little earth kids well living on Mars
by then, maybe even born on Mars in fifteen to
twenty generations on Mars. Instead of playing with marbles, will,
they're gonna start playing with bags full of polished, rounded diamonds,
(35:06):
flawless diamonds, because there'll be a nickel a dozen. They
won't even be a dime a dozen marble or diamonds
the side of size of bowling balls or bigger. In
New York City, and this is not a political story either.
This I found very interesting. These are mostly gonna be
(35:27):
conversation starters or stoppers. In New York City, an elderly
jewelry designer who has dined at a specific restaurant it's
called Serendipity three, been eating there for more than seventy years,
and was rewarded for her loyalty. Listen to this story,
will and tell me if you think this is really
(35:48):
a reward. Okay, she's been eating at this place for
seventy years, all right, and they rewarded her this week.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
By naming a Sunday after her.
Speaker 4 (36:00):
It's nice.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
It's nice, but what big deal they named it desert
for How about they give her one of those desserts
on the house every time she walked through the door.
Speaker 5 (36:09):
You know how she does. If the places that I
frequented regularly would name something after me.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
I would rather get.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
I would rather they just leave the name alone and
give me free food because I've been eating it for
seventy years. If they had a little punch card where
she got every tenth meal free, she'd probably own the place.
I didn't find that very impressive. Honestly, I'm kind of disappointed.
They made news for what they did, but they aren't
really rewarding the person in twenty second who gave the
(36:38):
story it select. Her name is Barbara Silverstein, by the way,
and her work has been displayed at the Museum of
Arts and Design in New York City and the Museum
of Fine Arts in Boston. And now she's got a
really cool Sunday. I saw a picture of it. It
looks delicious. I may have to fly up there and
eat one someday when I win the lottery.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
That's it for us today, Audios
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