Aging Interview

This interview was done on a very special woman named Ms. D.G. In order to get a better understanding on the aging process. My goal was to get an in-depth look at what she has gone through in her life, physiologically and psychologically, and to learn, recognize, and identify with her in some way. People judge our elders everyday, but we fail to remember that not long ago they were our age. this was a great way for myself and others to get an insight on this terse life we have to live.

Ms. D.G was born in 1939, making her 78 years old. She recently moved into a nursing home in Kingman, Arizona due to loss of her home, caregiver, and physiologic aspects. Besides the staff coming in and out at times, Ms. D.G and I were the only two people
D.G has experienced many transitions over the course of her life. As I said earlier on, she was married and divorced 4 times. This situational transition has made her have some obvious trust issues with men. I say this due to the fact that she prefers female nurses and speaks very unfavorably of the male nurses and the male patients in the home. She spent most of her life working in retail, but she did mention owning a wedding boutique in downtown kingman for years and worked as a seamstress. This was a positive situational experience for her in the financial aspect specifically. Due to a very bad divorce and new obligations, she was unable to keep the boutique open. In order to make ends meet, she acquired jobs here and there to keep up with bills and to take care of her children. The death of her oldest son was a very tragic situational experience, as was her daughter. Her son was killed in a car accident and her daughter, who was the youngest, had severe diabetes and due to complications passed in her sleep. Ms. D.G has been dealing with health-illness transitions for many years now. Her broken back has prevented her from doing things she onced loved like square-dancing or riding horses. The medications prescribed to her made her lightheaded and groggy making it hard for her to get out and connect with family and friends. She has had healthy and unhealthy developmental transitions over the years. The birth of her children and parenthood were her happiest developmental transitions and she said “having my children was my greatest achievement”. Ms. D.G’s unhealthy transitions are present and she at times is aware of this. She is sad and confused when she realizes she has forgotten something saying “I don't know why my brain isn't working”. Despite her good demeanor, Ms. D.G does not socialize well in the home. She rarely takes part in any of the activities that the home puts on and eats all her meals alone in her room. Organizational transitions like