Maria Hill

Because of a serious health issue that preceded my childlessness, health has been exceptionally important to me my whole life. I have made it a priority and, in retrospect, I think that it is one of the best investments one can make when you are childless not by choice so that your later years can be as enjoyable as possible.

A Debt To Yourself

I had serious health issues when I was in my 20s. As a result, I started looking for ways to become healthier, since I found our (US) health care system unresponsive to my needs. Women’s health needs were deprioritized then and are still now.

So many people treat aging as a time of pain, debility, and decline. Although those things are a part of aging, they do not have to consume your later years to the degree they often do. You can live into your 70s and 80s feeling remarkably well. You do, however, need to establish a healthy foundation for how you live that will support you as you age.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that with all of the loss we experience as childless people, especially childlessness not by choice, the more we owe it to ourselves to become as healthy as possible so that as we age, we can enjoy our later years.

I consider becoming as healthy as possible a way to pay a debt to ourselves and to value and celebrate our lives in spite of the losses of childlessness. We owe it to ourselves to value our lives and treasure the precious time we have on this earth.

Why I Became Healthier

In my early 20s I became very sick. I started having excruciating pain that traveled around my body. I went to Mass General Hospital, the famous hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, where I lived and was told it was all in my head. Not long afterward, my right leg from the knee to my foot, turned deep purple. I went to a different hospital and was admitted immediately.

That same day, a blood clot traveled from my leg to my lungs and I was in a different kind of excruciating pain. It is almost impossible to breathe with a blood clot in your lung and the pain medications I received, morphine and demerol, offered some but limited relief. It took days for the clot to dissolve from blood thinners. A week later, another clot traveled to my lung. It was clear that more drastic action was required. My doctor, a surgeon, advised placing a filter in my veins to stop the clots from moving up my body and potentially harming my heart or brain. That is what we did.

After several weeks of recovering from surgery, I tried to get out of bed and unfortunately fell flat on my face. My muscles were too weak to stand or walk. I was in the hospital for 30 days before I was sent home, still unable to walk. It would take 6 months before I was able to walk again.

I took the blood thinners as prescribed but was unhappy with how I was feeling and they did not control the clotting. Blood clots returned a decade later at which time, the doctor informed me that my condition was genetic. I had inherited the disposition to create blood clots from both my mother and father’s sides of my family.

What To Do?

I was at home one day not long after getting the clots again in my 30s and heard a talk by Deepak Chopra on our public television station. I looked him up and discovered that he had written a book, Perfect Health, which I immediately purchased. This book introduced me to Ayurveda which for me has been an incredible gift. I recommend the book and Ayurveda to anyone who wants to be healthy.

Ayurveda offers daily practices which improve digestion and protect the lymph system and one’s immunity. I started following them, learned to meditate and took a number of herbs that support the blood, immunity, balance, and brain health. I still follow these health practices many decades later. It has made a huge difference in how I feel. I rarely get sick.

Ayurveda health recommendations are customized to the individual’s constitution. There is no one size fits all which is one of the things I love about it. You do what is right for you. I am not perfect at it but I do enough of the right things that my health, in my late 70s is quite good. I am slowing down, of course, that is to be expected, but overall I feel good.

Ayurveda For Childlessness And Women

Ayurveda, which I have used extensively for decades, also offers strategies for women seeking healthy ways to navigate their reproductive challenges and menopause. My Ayurvedic doctor, Nancy Lonsdorf, is a highly regarded doctor who is an MD (Johns Hopkins) as well as Ayurvedic doctor. She has received the “Atreya Award for Excellence in Ayurveda Practice” and has written numerous books including several about women’s health. One is The Ageless Woman: Natural Health And Beauty After Fortyand A Woman's Best Medicine for Menopause: Your Personal Guide to Radiant Good Health Using Maharishi Ayurveda. If you would like to make menopause easier her books are worth a look. (I believe that Nancy is childless.)

It has been a long journey for me seeking to become healthier and I have succeeded in large part, although I can do more. I invite you to make health an important priority so that you can enjoy the experience of aging and looking forward to many years of joy as you exit the CNBC grieving process. Your life is valuable and deserves to be treasured.