Visit With an Elderly Person, Essay Example

General Information

Mrs. A. G. is a 72 year-old elderly Asian woman who is widowed with 2 adult children, one of which she lives with and one that lives in the same town but in a separate house. She is in the late adulthood developmental stage of life. She has a deep sense of integrity and is happy and content with life. Mrs. A.G. Lives with her son and daughter-in-law and 2 small grandchildren in a single family, four bedroom home in a middle class neighborhood. Her mobility is slightly impaired because of knee pain from osteoarthritis. She wears orthopedic shoes and sometimes walks with the assistance of a cane.

Physical Status and Appearance

For the interview, Mrs. A.G. was dressed in long pants and a floral printed shirt with a light sweater. Since the weather is slightly cool this was appropriate for her age group and environment. Besides the orthopedic shoes she also wears glasses in order to see more clearly. She appeared happy and her mind was sharp and clear. For our interview she was well groomed. She showers once a day and brushes her teeth twice a day.  The pain in her knee is her most serious concern. It impedes her mobility and sometimes she must walk with the assistance of a cane. Her eyesight is impaired and she needs glasses in order to see things clearly, especially things that are far away. My impression of her ability to care for herself was that she needs at least partial assistance, due to her impeded mobility and vision. However, she can dress herself, clean and bathe herself without assistance, and cook for herself and her family.

Outlook On life and Living

During the interview Mrs. A.G. kept good eye contact with me and appeared alert and relaxed. Her tone of voice was soft and free of anxiety. Her body language was relaxed and she did not appear to be uncomfortable. During our conversation, she often laughed and used hand gestures to emphasize points.

Her thoughts on the future are positive ones. She looks forward to watching her grandchildren grow. She enjoys activities social activities with family and friends. She does have some concern over the pain in her knee. She hopes that she does not end up knee surgery because she does not like hospitals. She says the worst that could happen would be that she would lose her mobility and freedom to move around. While her movement now is somewhat impeded, she can still move around with relative ease. The fear of surgery has motivated her to take it easy and take vitamin D supplements. She said that she had lived a good long life and that death would only bring her closer to her husband. She had quite an up beat and optimistic attitude about life in general.

Mrs. A.G. attributes her good health and sharp mind to her daily meditations, healthy cooking and a host of Chinese herbs that she drank in a tea each day. She also is a gardener, and tends a small vegetable garden in the backyard, which she works in daily when the weather allows.

Activities of Daily living

The daily routine of Mrs. A.G. begins at 5:30 AM, which is her normal time to wake up. She prepares breakfast for the family and says she enjoys this quiet time of the morning in which to contemplate and meditate. She prepares lunch for the children to take to school. She also prepares lunch and dinner for the family on a regular basis. She loves to cook and enjoys cooking healthy meals for the family. She attributes her good health to her vegetarian diet and the Chinese herbs she uses to make tea which she drinks daily.

She and the family regularly attend services at the Buddhist temple each Sunday morning. Mrs. A.G. also plays mahjong each Wednesday night with her daughter-in-law and a group of ladies. They meet at a different persons house each week. On the weeks that she and her daughter-in-law are hosts, they prepare snacks and tea for the ladies to eat during the game.

Mrs. A.G. cannot drive. She never learned and her bad eyesight makes it dangerous to learn. She depends on rides from her family and friends in order to go to social functions and to go shopping. She does stay active around the house. She loves to garden and has  a large vegetable garden in the family’s backyard. She spends some time each day in her garden. This gives her some access to fresh air and exercise on a daily basis.

She views her current health with some tepidity. While she seems robust and healthy, her knee bothers her and she worries that in the future it may get worse.  In order to avoid injuring her knee more, she takes care with her activities. She eats healthy and takes vitamin D supplements. She knows that if she does not take care of her knee then she may become even less independent and that is something she fears.

Her main source of information on community resources is through the Buddhist temple. She has family friends who are doctors whom she regularly seeks advice. She does have a family friend who is and acupuncturist who gives her therapy on her knee once a week at her house as well. Either her son, daughter-in-law or daughter drive  her to health provider appointments when she needs to go. Other community resources available to her include the office of a general practitioner who is a family friend. There is also a senior citizen community center in the area that offers classes and workshops and organizes outings for members. Although she has not taken part much in the past, she does say that she is interested in taking a painting class there in the near future.

Dimensions of the Woman

During an assessment of Mrs. A.G’s overall life, there did not appear to be many issues that needed addressing in order to enhance her life. Her lifestyle promoted good health and her social and family support led to a strong spirit and emotional well being.

• Intellectual – While Mrs. A.G. lacks formal education, she is quite sharp and well aware of current world situations. She is also well read in Buddhist script and knows many traditional Chinese stories and history by heart. She has an in-depth knowledge of food, herbs for healing and gardening which she attributes to her excellent health.
• Physical – Her knee pain from osteoarthritis is her most serious physical concern. It necessitates her using a cane for walking on occasion. She regularly wears orthopedic shoes to ease the pain. She also wears corrective glasses for seeing more clearly.
• Sociocultural – Mrs. A.G. seems to be well respected and loved by her family, and vice versa. She is well known and loved by her community as well, especially her mahjong group. She is well known for her quiet and jovial nature and for her warm heart. She believes that you give what you get and in her case, it appears to be true. She has no desire to date again.
• Spiritual – Mrs. A.G. demonstrated a deep commitment to her spirituality. She regularly visits the Buddhist center and there is a small alter in her room. She said she meditates daily in the morning and in the evening.
• Emotional – Mrs. A.G. is a very calms and centered woman. During our interview she kept eye contact and focus easily. Her manner was relaxed.

Mrs. A.G. seems to be an elder person who is very content and happy with her current situation in life. Her knee injury and the fear of surgery seems to be her only concern for her health in the future. This worry about her knee would be a deficit she is encountering in her late adulthood stage. An applicable nursing diagnosis would be Health seeking behavior RT knee pain and concern about the future AEB client’s expressed and observed desire to seek a higher level of wellness.

According to Jordan and Croft (2006) there are a few recommendations for an elderly person encountering knee pain. Exercise, and physiotherapy could help Mrs. A.G. to have better mobility and less pain in her knee. Possible drug intervention with non-steroidal and anti-inflammatory drugs may help as well. Pain could be relieved with an over the counter analgesic such as paracetamol (Jordan and Croft, 2006).

Summary

This semester I met a few elderly people in the hospital and I came to the conclusion that most elderly people were weak and suffer from financial problems. Meeting Mrs. A.G. introduced me to a new way of looking at the elderly. But my visit with Mrs. A.G. has made me realize that old age does not necessarily bring deterioration and illness. Health in old age depends on the individual’s attitude and wellness promotion activities. By exercising, eating well, and having a good support system the elderly can function as well as the young and continue to be a productive member of society.

References

Harder, Arlene F. (2009) “The Developmental Stages of Erik Erikson” The Learning Place Online Web. Retrieved October 30, 2010 from       http://www.learningplaceonline.com/stages/organize/Erikson.htm

Jordan, Porcheret M., and Croft, P. (2006) “Treatment of Knee Pain in Older Adults in Primary Care: Development of an Evidence-Based Model of Care” Rheumatology 46(4) 638-648. http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/content/46/4/638.full