At the Bedside: After loss, Myron Loop reconnects with art and his health

At the Bedside: After loss, Myron Loop reconnects with art and his health

Written by: Sydney Lowther | Updated: November 05, 2024

Myron, 78, a veteran and steel mill maintenance worker, met and married his wife Violet in 1980. (Photo by David Loop) For the next 20 years, Myron taught himself how to build furniture from magazines. Myron found his motivation to pick up his artwork again and realized the loss of his wife didn't mean his life was over.

Myron Loop spent years of his life in a lonely, isolated state of mind after the loss of his wife. Now, he is reconnecting with his art and making his health a priority again after seeking help from a geriatric physician.

Myron, 78, a veteran and steel mill maintenance worker, met and married his wife Violet in 1980. Myron and Violet decided to purchase an old home and renovate it together. Violet found an old coat rack while on a mission to furnish the house and knew she had to have it.

"It was a piece of junk; it looked terrible, but she handed me some drawings and said, 'Here, I want one.' A coat rack was the first piece of furniture I ever made; I ended up making 26 of them," Myron said.

For the next 20 years, Myron taught himself how to build furniture from magazines and found his passion in it until 1997, when Violet suffered a stroke and could no longer walk. He became her full-time caretaker, retired from his job, and focused on her health, so much so that he completely neglected his own.

"We traveled everywhere. I look back at the time we spent after the stroke, and it was fun for me; I got to spend that time with her," Myron said.

When Violet died in 2020, Myron fell into a deep depression in an already isolated world at the peak of COVID-19. Losing motivation to do anything he once cared about, he began suffering from chronic illnesses.

"She was my motivation; it just didn't feel right anymore," He said.

Noticing something was wrong, Myron's family convinced him to get help and get his life back on track. That's when he met Faith Atai, MD, a geriatric medicine physician at UTHealth Houston. Atai discovered Myron had fallen into a state of complacency with his chronic health issues as he took multiple daily medications without knowing why and suffered from severe gum disease. If left untreated, these factors could significantly affect his nutrition, cardiac health, and social involvement as he ages.

"People tend to underestimate the demands of being a caregiver and subconsciously put themselves on hold and immerse themselves in caring for their loved one," said Atai, who treats patients with a whole-health focus. "The impact on sleep, diet, rest, and recreation that full-time caregiving has - most don't talk about the psychological toll caregiving takes."

After just two visits with Atai and her team, they devised a plan of action. Myron saw a specialist for his chronic conditions, underwent physical therapy, had a dental reconstruction plan in place, and was able to open up about the loss of his wife.

"I explained that his family wants him healthy and independent, but they also want to be relevant to him. Our plan works with his goals of staying healthy and independent," Atai said. "Staying active or picking a hobby opens up opportunities for socialization, which is very important as we age. It also maintains relevance in society and contributes to mental and physical health."

Myron found his motivation to pick up his artwork again and realized the loss of his wife didn't mean his life was over. He could no longer make big pieces of furniture like he used to, but he could turn pens, carve serving spoons from a single piece of wood, and give them to people. Myron is getting the care that he needs and reconnecting with what he loves.

"Dr. Atai showed me that you have to do something. It might as well be something that means something to you," Myron said.

Media Inquiries: 713-500-3030

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.