Lifestyle

Working a Register at 69, a Cashier Started Having Pain in Her Shoulder. Then She Learned She’d Wait a Week for an X-Ray: “I Can’t Afford to Stop Working”

By Curtis Jones · November 4, 2026

Sheila lives on her own, works part time as a cashier and shares her life on YouTube. In a video posted Nov. 1, she described a week that showed how thin the margin can be for an older worker.

“I’m 69 years old and I’ve been having some significant pain in my right upper arm and my shoulder,” she said on her channel, In Sheila’s World (@InSheilasWorld). Some movements, she said, felt like a knife. And there was a wait: “I have to wait a week to get an x-ray.”

What frightened her more than the pain was money. “I can’t afford to stop working,” she said. She has rent to pay, bills coming due and “three cats who depend on me.” So she planned to head back that night. “I’m going to go back to that job and stand at that cash register for another shift.”

She tells her story in her video on YouTube.

“I’ve been working in retail as a cashier for about a year now,” she said. The job is mostly part time, though it sometimes feels like more. She described hours of standing, pushing, pulling and lifting, and trying to move quickly while still giving customers good service. She said she keeps showing up and doing her best, but joked that “my mind keeps writing checks” her body is having trouble cashing. The pain, she said, is something she first had last year, and it has come back.

She also answered a question viewers ask her often. “Yes, I do get social security. But it is simply not enough to live on,” she said, pointing to the cost of living today. She said she does not have many good choices, and wondered how many people her age are living with the same reality.

The answer is a lot. In 2023, 11.2 million Americans 65 and older, or 19.2%, were working or looking for work, according to the federal Administration for Community Living’s 2023 Profile of Older Americans. Labor force participation among women 65 and older has gradually risen since 2000, reaching 16% in 2023, the report says.

Social Security alone is a modest income for many. The average monthly benefit for a retired worker was $2,088.79 in September 2026, according to the Social Security Administration’s monthly snapshot. Prices keep rising too. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer prices rose 3.7% in the 12 months ending in September, and shelter costs rose 3.2%.

For older adults working through pain or a tight budget, two general steps can help:

Get persistent pain checked. Pain that lasts or keeps coming back is worth a doctor’s visit, and it helps to describe exactly which movements make it worse.

Look for help with bills. The Eldercare Locator, a federal service, connects older adults with local programs that may help with costs. It can be reached at 800-677-1116.

Sheila said she plans to make decisions once she has more information. In the meantime, she is doing what she can with the choices she has, and she asked viewers whether they have ever faced a moment when none of the choices in front of them felt like good ones.

This article is for general information and is not medical, financial or legal advice. This article was produced with the assistance of AI and fact-checked against the sources cited by LightWave Reports.