TIFU by triggering an existential crisis

I try to be very careful about how I phrase things, because I want to avoid confusion. But when comic timing is on the line, that goes out the window. In this particular case I wish I had taken the time to choose my words more carefully, because I somehow found the most awkward phrasing imaginable.

I was at a work function. It was a conference, where a many of the bigwigs in my industry congregate from across the state every year to learn about what changes are coming down the pipe. For the story, I was specifically at the social event the evening before the conference.

In past years I haven't attended the social. I'm not a super extraverted person. But after a recent promotion I'm at least a mediumwig myself, so it was more of an obligation this year. There was also alcohol present, but I can't blame it for this one-- I'm not much of a drinker so I was only about 3/4 of a beer deep after a few hours of mingling.

Anyway, I was floating around the room rubbing elbows with several consultants we have worked with on past projects. Eventually I end up speaking with one who is among the principals at his firm. He's been in the industry a while. After we discovered we had both awakened early that morning, he made a comment "Well, you know, I'm reaching an age where I have to wake up early to pee."

Since he brought up his age first, I thought it was fair game, and I saw an opening. In my head, the joke was something like "At least your bladder is still waking you up to pee; could be a lot worse!" It probably wasn't the most tasteful punchline anyway. But in my rush to get the line out before the setup become stale, it came out much worse. By the time my joke made it to my mouth, it was:

"In a few years, you might NOT wake up!"

Things got a little quiet in that conversation. I realized what I had said, and I tried to course-correct but my mortified addendum got completely drowned out when he offered a solemn, contemplative "Yes, I suppose I should count myself lucky for every morning I get."

I couldn't look him in the eye for the rest of the conference. Too late to fix for now. Maybe next year I can set the record straight.

TL;DR: Tried to joke with a business associate, but accidentally told him he's probably not long for this earth.