MONROVIA, Calif. 鈥 Most mornings, like clockwork, you could find Art Ballard pumping iron.
At least five days a week, he drove to Foothill Gym, where he beat on the punching bag, rode a stationary bike and worked his abs. After he joined the gym five years ago, he dropped 20 pounds, improved his balance and made friends.
At 91, he鈥檚 still spry and doesn鈥檛 take any medication other than an occasional Tylenol for aches and pains.
鈥淒octors love me,鈥 he said.
But when California enacted a statewide stay-at-home order in mid-March, his near-daily physical exercise and social interactions abruptly ended.
Ballard鈥檚 health started to deteriorate: His back hurt, his legs cramped and he started becoming short of breath. As happens too often with older people, he also started to feel isolated and depressed.
鈥淚 was deeply concerned for myself because I didn鈥檛 have an exercise routine at home,鈥 he said.
Art Ballard is proud that he doesn鈥檛 have to rely on several medications at his age. He takes only Tylenol as needed for aches and pains.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)
Art Ballard worked out at Foothill Gym a few weeks before it was officially open to the public. 鈥淚鈥檓 feeling so good,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 snapped back.鈥(Heidi de Marco/KHN)
The University of Southern California鈥檚 Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research conducted in late March, as the coronavirus established a foothold in the U.S., that found that older adults over 60 who lived alone were more likely to report feeling anxious or depressed than those living with companions.
The combination of the pandemic and nationwide lockdown orders put this already vulnerable population at greater risk, said Julie Zissimopoulos, co-director of the aging and cognition program at USC鈥檚 Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics. Social distancing measures have weakened the support systems that older people who live alone depend on for basic activities, such as help with grocery shopping and transportation to doctor appointments.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge, disproportionate impact on older adults with this virus and the health outcomes,鈥 said Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president of AARP Foundation. 鈥淒uring this shutdown, we鈥檝e had growing public health and community acknowledgement of how serious it can be to sever the ties with our network.鈥
Ballard, a retired jeweler, lives alone in a one-bedroom condo in Monrovia, a city of about about 20 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. He lost his wife of more than 50 years, Dorothy, to Alzheimer鈥檚 disease in 2015. Since then, he has embraced his solitude and reveled in his newfound bachelorhood. He enjoys cooking and trying out recipes, listening to 1950s music and watching YouTube videos about World War II.
Ballard holds a photograph of himself and his wife, Dorothy. She died from complications of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease almost five years ago. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)
He has a girlfriend he met online 鈥 a retired greyhound trainer who lives in Arkansas. They haven鈥檛 yet met in person.
Ballard felt he could handle the isolation of the lockdown order. He didn鈥檛 have visitors during quarantine, but his son, Dan Ballard, checked on him by phone weekly.
In the beginning, Ballard tried to keep busy. He did his shopping early in the morning and took strolls around his neighborhood. But after a couple of months of not visiting the gym, Ballard began feeling sad and frustrated, and his health started to slide. He relied more on his walker and sometimes struggled to breathe.
鈥淢y girlfriend was concerned with how I was thinking,鈥 said Ballard, who speaks to her on the phone several times a day.
For Ballard, a self-proclaimed gym addict, Foothill Gym was a second home. Just as in the 1980s sitcom 鈥淐heers,鈥 it鈥檚 a place where everybody knows his name. Not going to the 鈥渃lub,鈥 as he calls it, was taking a toll on his mental and physical health, so he decided to visit Brian Whelan, the owner of the small, family-run gym, in late May.
鈥淗e comes in, out of breath, with a walker,鈥 Whelan recalled. 鈥淗e couldn鈥檛 hold his head up straight and it took him five minutes to catch his breath.鈥
During the lockdown, Ballard started having difficulty keeping his balance. His solution was to walk around his neighborhood with a walker. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)
Art Ballard takes a break between sets to chat with Foothill Gym owner Brian Whelan on June 13. For Ballard, the benefits of the gym are twofold. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the health factor and the social aspect,鈥 he says. 鈥淓verybody there is so positive. It makes my day worthwhile.鈥(Heidi de Marco/KHN)
Art Ballard performs seated cable pulls during his total body workout at the gym. 鈥淚 try to get my heart rate up to 140,鈥 Ballard says.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)
Whelan felt sad and angry. 鈥淓veryone here was almost in tears because this vibrant man was gone,鈥 he said. So Whelan broke the rules. He invited Ballard to visit the gym even before it officially reopened to the public.
鈥淭he gym business is more than physical health,鈥 said Whelan. 鈥淚t鈥檚 mental health.鈥
Ballard resumed his beloved routine the last week of May, with the gym mostly to himself.
鈥淓very day for the past two months, I鈥檝e been sad,鈥 Ballard said on the first day back. 鈥淭oday, I woke up and I was happy.鈥
Day after day, Ballard improved. 鈥淣ow he comes in without a walker, head up straight, and the spark in his eyes is getting brighter,鈥 Whelan said.
Ballard says it took him a while to get his hands on a mask. He wears it when he goes grocery shopping and to doctor appointments. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)
Art Ballard lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment. He鈥檚 self-sufficient and says he wants to live independently as long as possible. More than one-quarter of adults 65 and older live by themselves, according to 2018 U.S. Census Bureau statistics.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)
Art Ballard combs his freshly cut hair before heading to the gym. He has always had a crew cut, and the quarantine forced him, for the first time, to grow it out.(Heidi de Marco/KHN)
The gym reopened June 15. Despite the threat of COVID-19, Ballard is back to working out six days a week. Masks are required to enter the gym but can be removed when exercising.
Ballard isn鈥檛 worried. 鈥淚鈥檓 100% comfortable,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檒l wear a mask if they ask me to.鈥
Son Dan said he鈥檚 worried about his dad being around people, but realizes the benefits.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a scary balance. If he stops going to the gym and can鈥檛 see anybody, I know he鈥檚 going to deteriorate,鈥 he said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, it鈥檚 a quality-of-life decision that鈥檚 his to make.鈥
Ballard believes not being able to socialize was a bigger threat to his health than the risk of contracting the coronavirus.
鈥淚 found out how important my routine and exercise is,鈥 said Ballard. 鈥淚t鈥檚 given me back my life. And it鈥檚 only going to get better.鈥
Ballard always ends his gym session punching the heavy bag at least 60 times in a row, he says. 鈥淭he most important thing to do is to shake those bones up, especially when you鈥檙e old,鈥 he says. (Heidi de Marco/KHN)
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