Firsthand—experiences with aging
Shingles, as you may know, is a malady of aging, rarely fatal but very painful for weeks on end. Also, it can reoccur. All those who have had childhood chickenpox carry the dormant virus that can be reactivated, at age 50 and beyond, by mechanisms not well understood. Shingles can occur anywhere on the body, head to foot, and when on one’s face can cause vision loss. Almost one out of three people in the U.S. will develop shingles in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are two vaccines that can prevent shingles. I knew that but put off taking action, though advised by my doc to do so.
My personal trip into shingles-land started with a red rash that did not hurt but was spreading. I decided to see my doc for medication and learned that my “rash” was actually shingles. Over the next days the rash spread, became quite painful, and super sensitive to anything that touched it. More trouble: chills, fatigue, and expected duration of 2–4 weeks (likely longer if complicated by cancer treatment or a weakened immune system.) The medication prescribed helped a lot but was accompanied by side effects to deal with.
A final word: if you had childhood chickenpox or do not remember, GO SOON to your primary care doc and get vaccinated. For further study, I found a very helpful article in the January 2016 Mayo Clinic Health Letter, healthletter.mayoclinic.com/issues/january-2016/shingles.
The more you know, the better, in my humble opinion.
—Earl Nolting
Editor’s note: The newer, two-dose Shingrix vaccine is currently out of stock throughout the Twin Cities metro area. The CDC recommends Shingrix for all adults age 50 and older, even those who have had shingles or received the single-dose, Zotavax vaccine, in use since 2006. To monitor availability of the Shingrix vaccine, go to shingrix.com and click on the Vaccine Locator tab at the top of the homepage. — Updated November 5, 2018
This is the first in a new, occasional series of articles. If you would like to share a firsthand experience related to health and aging, please submit a brief essay to Ron Anderson, interim chair, UMRA Cares Committee, at [email protected].
News
This will be a new regular column where you can find organizational tasks that need your help! We are currently looking for help researching a new UMRA Membership Database and URVC volunteer database, and a co-producer for UMRA's Zoom webinars. See more details:
Beginning January 1, 2027, the University of Minnesota is making updates to medical plans, the pharmacy vendor, and the Wellbeing Program incentive that apply to retirees and dependents enrolled in these plans.
The University of Minnesota has had a presence at the Great Minnesota Get-Together for 167 years. And on September 3, 2026, UMRA made its Minnesota State Fair debut to talk with fairgoers (on Seniors Day) about retirement and to promote opportunities to volunteer through our University Retirees Volunteer Center.
Like all of us, UMRA member Barbara Heinemann has been reflecting on 9/11 and life in the 25 years since then, with mixed feelings.
December 31 is the application deadline for UMRA’s 2027 Professional Development Grants for Retirees competition. Retirees from all five University of Minnesota campuses are eligible to apply. We invited Brad Hokanson, professor emeritus, UMN Department of Design Innovation, to tell us about the work supported by his 2026 grant to promote teaching creativity in high schools.
Meet UMRA member and volunteer extraordinaire Kay Louis. She devoted her career as an Extension educator — “bringing the University to the people” — to developing and providing programming for adults and youth.
The UMRA membership year runs from July 1 through June 30 of the following year. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership for 2027, it’s definitely time to do so!
UMRA has a Facebook group that is open to UMN retirees and others with close ties to the University, for posting messages about anything University- or retiree-related. Learn more.
UMRA hosted delegates from 14 of the 18 schools in the Big Ten for the 2026 Big Ten Retirees Association conference in July. It was described as “the perfect collaboration” by two delegates we invited to share a few of their key takeaways from the conference.
Developing communication skills is the focus of two programs needing volunteers this fall: the “Reader/Writer Program,” assisting students in Minneapolis Public Schools grades 7-12 to develop literacy skills; and “Partners in English,” engaging in conversation with adults for whom English is not their first language.
After being unexpectedly sidelined at the outset of her retirement, Pam Snopl now enjoys doing many of the things retirees get to do, including reconnecting in person with family and friends, going to museums and weekday Minnesota Twins games, reading, and writing.
UMRA member George Swan retired in 2021 after 30+ years at University Libraries, but still returns to campus to visit one or another of the libraries at least twice a week in his current role as a student/retiree.
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees program is an annual competition for grants to support projects related to retirees’ research, instructional history, new scholarly or creative interests.
UMRA needs everyone to renew their membership for the coming year. Thank you if you’ve already renewed! If you haven’t, please renew right away.