Elder Observation

Sarah
Elder Visit #1

Today is September 18, 2011. It is Sunday around 8am and I decided to spend my morning visiting a lady named Patricia. I met Patricia one day when my husband was doing some renovation on a friend’s house. She came over to ask for help, ever since then we have kept in contact with her.
According to Hooyman and Kiyak, “Chronological aging is the definition of aging based on a person’s years lived from birth” (p.4. 2011). Patricia’s chronological age is 72. She has been living since 1939. We have a huge difference in chronological age. My chronological age is 25 and I have been living since 1986. Although this is the case, we still call each other friends. The minute Patricia opened the door; I noticed how tired
she looked. I asked her if she was doing well and she explained to me that she was a little sick. She was coughing a lot. She slowly opened the door to let me in and closed it slowly behind me. Patricia explained to me about how happy she was to have me visit her. She thought I forgot about her just like everyone else she knew. Patricia walked over to her couch and slowly sat down. She told me to sit across from her in the living room. It is apparent Patricia is suffering from health deterioration, which comes with aging. The assessment of a person’s functional health is based on “an individual’s ability to perform basic personal care tasks such as: eating, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, getting in or out of a bed or chair, caring for a bowel-control device, and walking (the most common ADL limitation for older adults)” (Hooyman and Kiyak, p. 119, 2011). She would have a high functional health score due to her ability to complete the common tasks of daily life. For her age, it is a really good thing she can function independently. Patricia showed definite signs of aging in body composition. She showed noticeable changes. The human body undergoes normal body changes as age progresses (Hooyman and Kiyak, 2011 p.79). Patricia had a lot of wrinkles and bags under her eyes. Her skin had dark spots and freckles due to her aging process. She had gray, damaged hair. She is small framed and very tiny. She looks like she is about 5 feet tall. She probably weighs just a little over a hundred pounds. As I sat across from her, I started to examine her every move. She was dressed in her burgundy robe and her hair was down and a little nappy. I think she caught me looking at her, and she suddenly felt embarrassed. She apologized for not being properly dressed and groomed. She started fidgeting and fixing herself. I told her not to worry, but she kept at it. Patricia’s biological age seems to be a lot more than her chronological age. Biological age deals with the physical changes of a person’s body (Hooyman and Kiyak, 2011). Patricia was coughing a lot, and she walked very slowly. It didn’t look like she had too much energy. Patricia asked me if I wanted to have tea with her while she was coughing. I agreed to have tea with her. She walked over to her kitchen and began struggling with her sliding door. I walked over and helped her slide it open. She started turning red and told me she didn’t need any help. I went back to the couch and sat down. My expression suddenly changed because I was shocked she took it offensive.
When she came back into the living room with tea, she was in a really good mood. She started telling me about how much she loves tea. Patricia told me English tea is her favorite and she used to drink it often as a little girl. Patricia showed signs of psychological aging, which are changes in “sensory and perceptual processes, cognitive abilities (e.g., memory, learning, and intelligence), adaptive capacity, and personality” (Hooyman and Kiyak, 2011). I was a little surprised because just earlier she was upset with me. The minute she came back with the tea, her mood changed. She was smiling and making direct eye contact with me. She started talking about how her husband would sit and drink tea with her. She started to reminisce about the times with her husband. I didn’t want to bring back any old memories, so I didn’t ask her any questions. I just sat there and listened. She told me about how she and her husband did everything together. She had the brightest smile. She even smiled with her eyes. You can see the love and happiness in her eyes. Then Patricia started talking about her only son.
This is when she changed her mood once again. She became very distraught. She lost her son when he was only 10 years old to leukemia. She decided to never have any other kids because the loss of her first and only child was just too much to bear. Patricia and her husband never tried for another. You could see the pain in Patricia’s eyes. She was hurting still, even after all these years. She would talk about all the things they did together and how they were just the perfect little family. She explained their decision to not have any more kids after her son’s
death. I was never given the chance to talk, but it didn’t bother me. I just wanted to listen to her because it seemed like longed for someone to listen to her. After realizing I was listening to her every word without a response. She began to smile again and apologized for making me feel sad. Patricia explained to me about how grateful she was to have me as a friend. She explained how much she wants company and needs company. Once again, she changed her mood. She fell back into the depressed mood and began telling me about her husband’s death. Her husband died when she was 61 years old. She had been living alone for 9 years. She had no family or friends. She stayed in her home with her stray cats and dog. As I was getting ready to comfort her, she told me she wanted to show me something.
She jumped up right away and began making her way to her room. She didn’t seem to be depressed anymore. When she returned, she had a box in her hand. Inside the box were pictures of her and her family. Patricia was digging through the box and taking out pictures. She was very excited about showing them off to me. After showing me a few pictures, we heard a knock at the door. Someone was there to pick her up for church. She apologized to me and told me she forgot all about church. She grabbed her purse and walked me out the door. We said our goodbyes and before she could make it to the vehicle, she realized she was still in her robe. She told the driver to wait a minute and went back inside. This is when I went into my car and drove
home. This is when I realized Patricia suffered severe social aging. “Social aging refers to an individual’s chaining roles and relationships with family, friends, and other informal supports, both paid and unpaid productive roles, and within organizations such as religious and political groups” (Hooyman and Kiyak, 2011). Patricia keeps to herself and is restricted mainly to her own home. She doesn’t get out very often. She pays people to take her to the store and to any events. I feel really bad for her.

References
Hooyman, N. R. & Kiyak, H. A. (2011). Social gerontology a multidisciplinary perspective.
Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.