The nightmare scenario for many people growing older on their own — a medical crisis in the middle of the night — happened to Jackson Rainer over the summer. Nagging stomach pain turned so excruciating that he couldn’t wait for an ambulance to get to his high-rise apartment in Atlanta. So he drove himself to the hospital and was immediately admitted. Three days later, his colon ruptured, necessitating surgery to remove his large intestine.
Rainer, 70, faces months of recovery and adjustment to a new diet and lifestyle. Yet the semiretired clinical psychologist, whose wife of 38 years died in 2016, says, "I am just as fortunate as I can be."
