Chapter 25

Later adulthood (65+ years in often a stage in life that people look forward to in regards to retirement, financial security, family help and contact. It is a time in life whereby we avail of time to spend with our friends and family and take part in activities that we were unable to find time to do earlier in life. However this can be a time in life when physically our bodies physically deteriorate and the aging process takes its toll. Mobility, general physical health, bodily function and agility may start or have become compromised and less responsive and effective. We may experience pain or impairment in our physical wellbeing. As a result we may require assistance aids or appliances to assist us with physical care needs. We may require access to convenient health and leisure facilities, practical help and access to assessment of need.   

Our intellectual needs are just as important as we age. They are all the needs an adult requires to keep their brain working effectively. Intellectual needs change as we grow and develop.  By later adulthood our intellect has developed but we need to use, expand and maintain it.  As human beings we are always on a journey of learning and development and therefore we require our intellect to aid us and help us achieve.  In later adulthood  we require our intellect  which helps us not only with day to day decisions but for continuing education, mental activity motivation and stimulation. In later adulthood our brain may be subject to less functioning ability and may be effected by disease process. However this can also happen in Adulthood, but is rare. In later adulthood intellect can become impaired which may in turn compromise cognition/memory and mental functioning. This will require those in later adulthood to have access to specialist assessment and care provision provided by health and social care professionals.

Post 2

This chapter was very important to me because I learned a lot about elders that I did not know and some terms that I never heard before. An interesting aspect I found in this chapter was the section about grandparents and grandchildren. This was interesting to me because some of definitions actually relate to my life. In this chapter I learned about the different variations of grandparents and grandchildren which can be found on 710 of our textbook chapter 25. Here I learned about remote grandparents or in other words a grandparents who are emotionally distant to their grandchildren (Berger, 2011.) I have never heard this term, and this actually relates to my life. My grandmother was never really tied to me and my sister and always acted as if we were a burden or didn't know what to do with us. So I would label her a distant grandparent since she never really emotionally tied with me and my sister. The next term in this section is a companionate grandparent, who is a fun loving grandparent that spoils their grand kids (Berger, 2011). I would label this for my dad's side because his parents were always spoiling me and my sister. I never wanted to leave there because it was one big play house and it was some place where I felt at home. So my dads parents would be labeled as companionate grandparents for all that they have done for me and my sister. The next term on the list is involved grandparents or parents that live close to the grandchildren or live with them (Berger, 2011). I always lived a distance of about 45 minutes away from my grandparents so this definition does not apply to me but my best friend actually built on an addition for her grandmother and lived in an apartment attached to the house. The final term is Surrogate parents who raise their grandchild because their parents are unwilling to do so (Berger,2011). This relates to my life and my friends because my good friend Miranda's grandmother raised her her whole life because of the absence of her parents. This chapter was overall interesting to me because I learned so much that I always wanted to know about older people. In this chapter I learned names of grandparents and learned so much about the elderly which helped me understand them and their behaviors a lot more.

integrity vs. despair

            Integrity vs despair from Erik Erikson was something I had seen before from reading many books and also many situations I had been around in my life. I understood when I was younger watching my grandparents do something to better the community or remain a part of it you don’t want to be remembered as somebody who just gave up one day by not seeing your kids and family or not showing up to do something that was special to those in your community (all of this reminds me of “A Christmas Carol”.

            Unlike those who reach the level of despair I never really had seen that from within the family. However, I had my grandfather who took care of those who had been on the track to despair. So what my grandfather did was he would talk with the family members and make sure he could have them come in frequently to make sure that they could still feel that importance and love that was once there before they were put into an intensive care facility.

            Having been apart of a family of very independent people we never had the issues of being in a situation where we thought a loved one wasn’t getting the attention they believed they deserved from the younger family members. I see a lot of abuse and abandonment in society as of now due to situations of money and living of those who are next to receive either wealth or something in return.

CHapter 24: Aging

It may surprise people to know that there are a significant number of young people barely out of their teens who have become caregivers for their grandparents. Many of these young people were raised by their grandparents. In other instances, the grandchild becomes the primary caregiver because he or she lives closer to the elder than other family members. Sometimes, it's simply because a particular grandchild feels close to the grandparent and has the "caregiver personality." Whatever the reason that care giving begins, I hear from a number of young adults who are trying to care for one or more grandparents. Most of them love their grandparent dearly, but they often come up against obstacles that are quite overwhelming for people so young. One young woman recently wrote about the problem of getting health information about her grandfather, because the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act laws won't allow her to do so without the proper paperwork, and her grandfather doesn't see the need to have this youngster involved in his clinical care. The problem is that the grandfather doesn't understand that no other family member is available to help him. The granddaughter is working on the problem with the help of a mature mentor, but it can be frightening to be faced with the responsibility of an elder at such a young age.

I find the idea of calorie restriction as a means of extending life and delaying aging rather surprising. I'm with the majority of scientists in being skeptical that calorie restriction is beneficial and can extend human life. Just because it works for animals doesn't mean it will work for humans.

Over-nourishment as is commonly seen in the U.S. is definitely detrimental and contributes to diseases that can shorten the human lifespan. As a culture we've focused on the negative health effects of being over-weight and practically ignored the negative health impacts of being underweight.

Our text mentions that consuming fewer calories results in less frequent cell duplication. Makes sense as the body doesn't have enough macro-nutrients (measured in calories) to function properly so it has to allocate resources and make do with what it has. Michael Rae, one of the leaders of the Calorie Restriction Society, pictured in our textbook, looks rather thin and undernourished to me. My guess is he wouldn't have much endurance in a race, resistance to pathogenic organisms, or reserves to fall back on if injured or ill. Undernourishment shortens the lifespan of thousands of people in poorer countries, this is due in part to lower disease resistance.

When you don't get enough nutrition non-essential things such as bones suffer. With a slower metabolism, all of the body's processes slow down, including mineral and bone metabolism, which are essential for skeletal health. People who are underweight are at greater risk of bone fractures and osteoporosis.

Adequate nutrition, not too much and not too little is best for sustaining and supporting the health and longevity of the human body.

References

Alam, I., Larbi, A., & Pawelec, G. (2012). Nutritional status influences peripheral immune cell phenotypes in healthy men in rural Pakistan. Immunity & Aging, 916-25. doi:10.1186/1742-4933-9-16

Bialo, S. R., & Gordon, C. M. (2014). Underweight, overweight, and pediatric bone fragility: Impact and management. Current Osteoporosis Reports, (3), 319.

Rytter, M. H., Kolte, L., Briend, A., Friis, H., & Christensen, V. B. (2014). The immune system in children with malnutrition—A systematic review. Plos ONE, 9(8), 1-19. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0105017

Aging Grandparents

Reading about aging in chapters 23 and 24 made me think a lot about my own grandparents. I have two surviving grandparents--my Grandad my mom's side and my Lola on my dad's. Seeing them over Thanksgiving brought about mixed feelings.

Ever since my Grandma passed away, my Grandad hasn't been the same. You can tell he misses her dearly. He also got a call from his best friend this week...his friend said it very well may be the last time they talk. Lola is also seeing her friends go. Her med school class has a reunion every year. Each year, less classmates show up. I can't currently imagine what it's like to lose the people closest to you, but I guess we are all bound to experience at some point in our lives.

Another thing that saddens me is seeing my grandparents gradually lose their independence. My Lola was always an independent, feisty woman who raised a family, worked, and ran a household without a husband for most of her life. After she had triple bypass surgery, she has significantly slowed down physically. We've had a complete role reversal from when I was a child. Now I'm the one who buckles her in when we go on a car ride. I also need to zipper her coat before we go out together. What pains me most is to remember that she was not always like this. And, she doesn't want it to be like this. She still wants to be able to live alone and take care of herself, but it just isn't practical anymore.

I think we often forget that older people were once our age. We forget that they understand love, loss, and going through transitions when really we should be asking them for advice. There are some things you can only learn through time.

Chapter 25

A lot of elder-care arrangements now are home care, aging in place, and NORCs since they are less costly and more individualized than nursing homes. One common form here in the United States is called assisted living. Assisted living is an arrangement that combines some of the privacy and independence of home life with some medical supervision of a nursing home. A patient who is in the residence of assisted living may have their own private room allowing pets and their own furnishings just like a traditional home. My grandmother is currently in this process. My grandmother was deciding to either go with a cottage which is independent living or go with an apartment where she would be closer to my grandfather when he got moved into memory support. She ended up choosing the cottage because she wanted a smoother transition since she has been used to living in large houses most of her life. Many assisted living facilities range from group homes of three or four elderly people to large apartment or townhouse. Usually, medical assistance is readily available just in case something would happen or the person needs daily supervision when taking a pill. They have doctors readily available and an ambulance is provided when necessary. The one where I live has assisted living and independent living. My grandmother loves her independence and not being awoken by others moving about. So the person she talked to about the cottage with definitely agreed that she should go with the cottage without exactly telling her. Since she has a bad back it would be better for her so she doesn't have to necessarily walk as far.

Many elders are abused in homes so sometimes making these kind of decisions. Elder abuse occurs when caregiving turns into resentment. We are all human but we should still treat our elderly with respect. I did a research assignment on elder abuse and it was so hard to see the mistreatment that they receive. It is terrible that people could treat such kind people with disrespect. Some provide excellent care but some people think that they are basically going there to die. The caregiver is exhausted from taking care of the care receiver and disagree often about schedules, menus, doctor visits and so on. I see it sometimes with my grandmother. She gets upset when my grandfather is staring off into no where while she is trying to talk to him. We have been trying to explain to her that it is the disease not him. She just doesn't understand that. She has been stuck in her ways for so long that she doesn't always see when she is doing something wrong. She feels like she has this large burden on her shoulders. My mom has been helping her by talking to my grandfather. She got help in there. She has someone sitting with him so she can get a break. She is stressed because of the decisions she has to make and she takes it out on him. I am looking forward to them moving up here because then they will be closer to us and we will be able to help. Reading in the book about late adulthood really opened my eyes to get some of an understanding what Alzheimer Disease is and how elder abuse and assisted living is described.