If you couldn’t speak for yourself after surgery or an illness, who would make your medical decisions? That’s the question at the center of a new Aging Untold episode featuring gerontologist Sam Cradduck. A medical power of attorney handles more than end-of-life care. This person decides on rehab placements, assisted living, home care and caregivers, and their job is to advocate for your wishes rather than their own preferences. Naming someone now, and actually talking through what you want, spares your family from guessing later.
The episode also covers chronic dry mouth, which affects about 30% of adults 65 and older and 40% of adults 80 and up, according to the American Dental Association. Medications, dehydration, nerve damage and autoimmune disorders are common causes, and there are practical remedies worth discussing with your dentist or doctor. Plus, an emergency physician makes the case that time outdoors should be prescribed like medicine for both mental and physical health. Locals already know a walk along the Gulf or the Legacy Trail does a body good.
For a change of pace, the show closes with New Orleans blacksmith Darryl Reeves, who carries on his grandfather’s centuries-old ironwork tradition. Craft, family, legacy. So here’s our question for you: have you named your medical power of attorney yet, and if not, what’s holding you back?
