At the age of 78, Maxine was a poster girl for an active senior lifestyle. She loved being the unofficial social director of her assisted living community in the Texas Hill Country, organizing shopping trips to San Antonio and calling the numbers at the daily bingo game. Physically, Maxine was in great shape. She took a brisk walk every morning and had a regular annual physical exam. Her only chronic health problem was mild Parkinson’s, which she controls with daily medication.

Since Maxine especially enjoyed sitting with her special friends at dinner, she was very concerned when she began to experience prolonged coughing fits at the table. At first she thought the problem might be simply trying to talk, eat, and breathe at the same time – so she decided to listen more and speak less. Things got better for a while, though her friends did notice how quiet and subdued she seemed...more