He was 103 and his widow is 100. Quite amazing!
You may wonder why I am posting about it and what the relevance to the forum is. Well in 1996 Kirk has a serious vascular event, a stroke, and it feared he would never speak again. However, he fought his way back and lived for 24 more years. I understand he was relatively mobile and with it until near the end. The moral to all here is vascular issues are not the end just a new and different beginning.
Re-watching Spartacus tonight, one of his great films but not as great an achievement as his recovery from stroke - truly inspiring, thank-you for posting this.
Good point Michael, an encouragement to.all.
Thank you michael
The new beginning can be such that you would wish that the initial event had been the end. ie : not being able to walk, not being able to walk without assistance, changes in personality that end up causing the end of a marriage, not being able to work, not being able to work full time, having to learn to learn to speak again, learning to walk again. Then we have the patient who may never find the motivation needed to come back from total or bad or mild disability. Getting to a hospital for treatment can be absolutely essential to prevent severe damage however the time factor is short. What do I know ? I was a nurse, I have already had mini strokes, I have been using a blood thinner pill for years, I have a son-in-law who had a severe stroke at age 45 - Blood clotting is genetic in at least two of my family lines.
Thanks Michael xxx
Thank you for posting, I showed my husband your post. 5 weeks after I had my surgery he had a stroke took his left side and some of his vision. To say the last 3 years have been interesting maybe an understatement! But a sense of humour works wonders! But he too as fought really hard to get some independence back. We had no idea that Kirk Douglas had had a stroke but had survived for another 24 years is amazing. Makes John think he as got some more time. Again thanks
Kirk was 79 when he had his stroke and initially lost the ability to speak and had issues with motor functions. He wrote a book about it ""My Stroke Of Luck" where he talks about the both physical and mental issues, and even becoming a better person. Your husband might enjoy reading it.
Thanks for that will look it out.
He undoubtedly had the best of care as had enormous personal wealth as does his son. This would have gone a long way in recovery with intensive therapies. Unlikely to get daily speech therapy on the NHS.
Anyone of us if we had the money would use it to secure the best and fastest care. No way would I have endured the months of angina and breathlessness as I waited for my bypass. But once it happened it was carried out in a totally professional manner.
Outside of acting Kirk, with his wife Anne, were/are renowned for his immense philanthropy with acts such as helping to rebuild Los Angeles’s playgrounds; donating over $45 million to charity, feeding the homeless and more. This compares favourably against many modern multi millionaires and billionaires whose main aim seems to be accumulate ever more wealth, often at other people's expense!
Not knocking NHS - whose critical care is often amazing. I know I am the recipient of it. And yes we would all do the same with our wealth if we had it. Simply saying many more people would live to a similiar age if they could afford good aftercare which UK is not especially renowned for.
Really?
Would you like to provide the evidence for that statement.
Maternal death rate is a pretty good indicator of the quality of healthcare in a country.
We do not spend as much as other countries on our healthcare however we achieve a great deal with a limited budget
statista.com/statistics/268...
Not sure what exactly your point is. Wealth can get you the the best treatment but as we see occasionally the consultants are not always the best of breed. Achieving a great age seems a combination of genes, lifestyle and a dose of luck! The Royals are long lived but as Princess Margaret showed you can only push the lifestyle envelope so far.
I think it all comes to how much you spend on healthcare. I live in France and medical care is very good . When I visit the UK I'm still impressed by the NHS but it is underfunded - workers contribute less to the health service from their pay than in France. You get what you pays for as the saying goes 🙂
X
The Royals - hmmm big fans of homeopathy which I am not unless it just induces placebo healing.
Help with diagnosis
Living in a pressure cooker 
advice on cardiac arrest 
Heart attack & 25 minuet cardiac arrest
Had my consultation with my actual own consultant 
