Taking care of our health to get our best shot at life

This post is sponsored by Pfizer and all opinions are my own.

Life is about taking our shot when the opportunity arises. My personal approach is to take care of my health and remind my loved ones to follow suit, so we can continue to embark on that adventure, or learn a new skill.

 If we’ve learned something in the past few years, it is to seize the opportunity to take our shot at life. Vaccination can help prevent pneumococcal pneumonia from getting in the way of that.
Photo by Phillippe Diederich

I’m in my late 50’s, and two years ago I decided to take up a new hobby, paddleboarding. For quite some time I’d considered incorporating this outdoor activity into my life. My eldest daughter, then 19, bought herself a paddleboard and even did some long-distance paddleboarding in Lake Tahoe. 

That inspired me to buy my own paddleboard and enjoy a new way of staying fit while appreciating nature where I live in Florida. Since then, I’ve enjoyed paddleboarding outings by myself, with my youngest child, or with my husband.

 If we’ve learned something in the past few years, it is to seize the opportunity to take our shot at life. Vaccination can help prevent pneumococcal pneumonia from getting in the way of that.
Photo: Phillippe Diederich

Traveling is another thing that I love, so as soon as I had the chance last year, I flew to Spain to spend time with my father and later to California to be with my eldest daughter and to visit my sister. 

I am always grateful to be able to visit my family and take the time to discuss health matters when we’re together.  My father is over 65 and has chronic heart disease which increases his risk for some diseases like pneumococcal pneumonia, it’s important he stays educated on ways to help prevent infection.

Pneumococcal pneumonia is a potentially serious bacterial lung disease that can disrupt your life for weeks. In severe cases, it can put you in the hospital and even be life-threatening. Getting vaccinated can help prevent pneumococcal pneumonia.

 If we’ve learned something in the past few years, it is to seize the opportunity to take our shot at life. Vaccination can help prevent pneumococcal pneumonia from getting in the way of that.
Photo: Phillippe Diederich


Now that my husband and I are almost empty nesters, we’re taking our shot by incorporating more local travel into our lives. Before Hurricane Ian, we visited the beach town of Boca Grande, Florida, an hour away from where we live. We perused the quaint shops downtown, admired the canopy roads, and enjoyed the beautiful beaches. 

 If we’ve learned something in the past few years, it is to seize the opportunity to take our shot at life. Vaccination can help prevent pneumococcal pneumonia from getting in the way of that.
Photo: Phillippe Diederich

We’d been talking about doing this for a while and we finally just did it! That’s what life is really about, finding ways to seize the moment.

I remind my kids, both adults ages 21 and 18, to be on top of their health. They are young, but good health is never guaranteed; anyone between the ages of 19 and 64 with underlying conditions such as diabetes, asthma, chronic heart disease, or COPD, to name a few, have a higher risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. Being 65 or older is another key risk factor.

 If we’ve learned something in the past few years, it is to seize the opportunity to take our shot at life. Vaccination can help prevent pneumococcal pneumonia from getting in the way of that.
Photo: Leslie Guarascio

Getting vaccinated against pneumococcal pneumonia can help prevent it from standing in the way of taking our best shot at life.

Pneumococcal pneumonia can strike any time of year, so if you have one or more of these risk factors, now is the time to ask a doctor or pharmacist about vaccination.

Lorraine C. Ladish

Bilingual and bicultural Spanish-American editor, writer, speaker, influencer, yoga teacher (RYT500) wife and mom. Founder of Viva Fifty! Published author of 18 books. Her most recent book Your Best Age was released by HarperCollins in September of 2017.

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