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Tuesday, June 06, 2000
By Ellen Mazo, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
At 76, Juanita Simmons has diabetes, high blood pressure and arthritis, which means that no one would blame her if she just sat and fretted in the living room of her East Liberty home.
After all, life wasn't all that easy, working nights so she could be home during the day for her son and daughter when they were young. She did not remarry until they were older teen-agers. In the meantime, she rose from being a nurse's aide to a practical nurse at what is now UPMC Montefiore.
Then, as her health deteriorated, Simmons' second husband died.
Getting doctors to take her problems seriously was trying.
"They think women are menopausal puzzles, that everything is in our heads," she said. "I told one doctor that poor circulation runs in my family, but he told me the problems I was having with my legs were nothing. I left him and found a doctor who tested me and said I had partial blockage in both my legs."
Simmons knew she had to take charge of her health -- but how?
Not far from home was Vintage, a nonprofit agency that promotes well-being among older people.
She visited, at first gingerly participating in exercise classes.
"Juanita started walking with us, and you would not believe how much progress she has made," said Rhoda Dorfzaun, Vintage health wellness coordinator. "This morning, she walked several laps around the room."
Simmons says she is more agile than she ever thought she could be. She has been able to resume her hobby of needlepoint. She is more energetic.
"I think the important thing for older people is not to stay home by themselves," she said. "Get out. Join something. Get interested in something besides yourself. If you don't, you'll wind up doing nothing and your problems will just get bigger, and you'll just get sicker."
Rhodo Dorfzan, left, health and wellness coordinator at Vintage, laughs as Juanita Simmons works on needlepoint in the Vintage arts and crafts room. (Douglass Oster, Post-Gazette)