I decided to use this extra credit assignment to gain some more insights and experience on illness and dying before we move on to the next unit. I have a close family friend who has been admitted in a hospital for cancer. My parents have been taking out some of their time to pay him a visit at least once a week; I decided to join them on their visits throughout this week. This is one specific visit I paid yesterday (Saturday). While taking the elevator ride up to the seventh floor, I asked my father how long his friend has been in the hospital for; he told me that it has been almost a month now. “Wow…” Was all I could say to myself at the time; I could not imagine myself in the same position. As a society we usually fear hospitals and such environments, but when we become ill or near death we are willing to spend all the time we have being treated there. The elevator doors opened and we were greeted by a desk, where a few doctors were talking to the people behind the desk. We turned to the right and entered a room.
There I saw him lying on his bed, with his wife sitting beside him. There was a curtain that took place of a partition from another patient on the other side. His wife was feeding him something, it seemed like pudding to me. We all said our Salams, then my parents started to ask then how they are doing, he responded with “Alhumdulilah” (Praise to God). As time progressed he started to talk about his childhood and his future plans. He said that he wants to be there when his daughter who is in first grade now is getting married. He talked about his dreams of performing Hajj before he dies. Later on he started to complain about his poor eyesight which was caused by his cancer. I noticed that the room was a bit tight in space; not everything was neatly organized, but everything seemed to be well sanitized. Throughout the time we were with him he had ate some pudding like substance, and drank an ensure shake. Only once did a doctor come in to do an eye exam on him. After about an hour and thirty minutes had passed, he seemed to look tired, so we said our goodbyes and departed.
Growing up it was normal to see my father’s friend at our house for dinner. I remember he used to have a fuller figure, but now it seemed as if he has lost a lot of weight. Other then him losing a lot of weight, I wouldn’t be able to tell that is sick with cancer. He talked as he did before, but now the topics which he discussed differed from his previous discussions with my father. Before he used to discuss issues that were occurring in his present life; now he was sharing his aims for the future and his past such as his childhood. Both he and his wife seemed to be pretty calm; I imagined his wife to have lost some weight or have some external changes such as the way she dressed or did her make up, but not much differed from the way she looked in the past.
Throughout the whole time I felt like I was an observer and a listener. I felt normal as I do most of the time. At some points I felt bad for him, this man had a young child, what would happen to her if he wasn’t able to live for long? I remembered that night to keep him and his family in my prayers; I continue to do so to this day. I wish that I could be able to make a drastic change in his health, but I am well aware that this is not possible. I remember that I was thinking to myself about why certain people become sick while other live healthy lifestyles? What sets them apart? But I kept all these thoughts to myself, because it wouldn’t have made much a difference if I were to share them.
Some social practices that supported their dignity were the visits being paid to them by family and friends they usually don’t get to see very often. He also had his wife performing all the usual tasks he would perform himself if he wasn’t sick. We made sure to bring him something with every visit we paid him, usually it was some beverage. I guess it all depends on how one looks at the situation. Each individual has a different approach to everything; it is the same for this case as well. One may feel happy with all the pity they receive upon their sickness while another may not like it as much. Usually we enjoy the pity we receive because we like attention, but others may not like the pity because the trigger of all this pity is their sickness. I would say that in this specific situation, my father’s friend seemed to be neutral.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Hwk 33
For Kevin:
Hey Kevin,
I agreed with what you had to say. You were able to sum up to the reader about all the insights you have about illness and dying in our culture. I liked the last part the most; you are right, we are not required to follow the dominant social practices that much of our society tends to follow. There are a number of alternatives out there, but society has raised us in a way so that we are accustomed to the general social norms. I feel the same way after taking a part of this unit; the next time I get sick I won't have the same thoughts as I did in the past. I was able to connect myself with much of what you had to say throught this post. Keep this up, because it really got me thinking. For next time though, I would advise you to proof read; you made a couple of grammar mistakes.
Amber
For Bianca:
Hi Bianca,
You did a nice job of weaving in some beauty throughout your post. It was interesting to read about your sum up of this unit. While reading this I became well aware of your thoughts about hospitals and how they present themselves as factories in our society. While reading through this I found myself shaking my head a few times; not because what you had to say was bad, but because most of what you had to say was true to some extent. You are right, there are many different ways one can look at hospitals and this can help shape up ones thoughts about illness and dying and how they intend to deal with their own death. I liked how you used this factory idea with hospitals and connected it to pupils in school. There are many nightmarish atrocities that fill up our society, may it be illness or dying, food or school.
Amber
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Kevin:
I don't exactly agree with everything that you said, but I think your post was very thought provoking. Overall it was a well-structured post. Every paragraph stuck to one idea. This made it very easy to follow what you were saying, and ultimately get the points you were making. I think one of the best points that you brought up was the one where you were talking about how people react to others dying. While I don't think that everyone is selfish, that more people are confused then selfish. But you make the point clearly, and it's thought provoking. A lot of the blog posts I've read make me think a little. But by asking so many questions this gets me thinking a lot. Good work.
From Bianca:
I loved that you took full advantage of the amount of writing you wanted to provide. Though I think a mere paragraph would've sufficed, your writing was most certainly appreciated. The questions you stated at the end of your last paragraph definitely proved to be thought-provoking. I also agree that we are selfish when dealing with such things like death and illness. I realize that these three paragraphs are your thoughts but, also keep in mind the consistency in your structuring. It's easy to digress from such a topic but, you did great.
From Attic (Mother):
Amber,
I agree with most of what you have to say here. My favorite line was when you questioned the reader: "When we think of the word doctor we think of some magical person who will make it his/her full responsibility to cure us. But who is underneath this label “doctor”, do we really know who he/she is?" It made me think about all those times I have had to rely on a doctor or a dentist. You are right, society makes us blind when it comes to our caregivers. It makes us believe as if we should have trust without any question for those who we depend on; and you are right, this should not be the case.
Mom
From Basement (Brother):
Amber,
When you said: "As a country we have modernized in many ways, yet we haven’t really modernized our healthcare system." I totally agree. We are always in a hurry to become the owner of the latest gadgets out there, but what about those who are not able to afford medical care for themself. I know that nothing is fair in life, but I think that healthcare is a topic that needs to be fair to all no matter what the case may be. I am aware that there are efforts being made, but we need to pick up our pace.
Nabil
Hey Kevin,
I agreed with what you had to say. You were able to sum up to the reader about all the insights you have about illness and dying in our culture. I liked the last part the most; you are right, we are not required to follow the dominant social practices that much of our society tends to follow. There are a number of alternatives out there, but society has raised us in a way so that we are accustomed to the general social norms. I feel the same way after taking a part of this unit; the next time I get sick I won't have the same thoughts as I did in the past. I was able to connect myself with much of what you had to say throught this post. Keep this up, because it really got me thinking. For next time though, I would advise you to proof read; you made a couple of grammar mistakes.
Amber
For Bianca:
Hi Bianca,
You did a nice job of weaving in some beauty throughout your post. It was interesting to read about your sum up of this unit. While reading this I became well aware of your thoughts about hospitals and how they present themselves as factories in our society. While reading through this I found myself shaking my head a few times; not because what you had to say was bad, but because most of what you had to say was true to some extent. You are right, there are many different ways one can look at hospitals and this can help shape up ones thoughts about illness and dying and how they intend to deal with their own death. I liked how you used this factory idea with hospitals and connected it to pupils in school. There are many nightmarish atrocities that fill up our society, may it be illness or dying, food or school.
Amber
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Kevin:
I don't exactly agree with everything that you said, but I think your post was very thought provoking. Overall it was a well-structured post. Every paragraph stuck to one idea. This made it very easy to follow what you were saying, and ultimately get the points you were making. I think one of the best points that you brought up was the one where you were talking about how people react to others dying. While I don't think that everyone is selfish, that more people are confused then selfish. But you make the point clearly, and it's thought provoking. A lot of the blog posts I've read make me think a little. But by asking so many questions this gets me thinking a lot. Good work.
From Bianca:
I loved that you took full advantage of the amount of writing you wanted to provide. Though I think a mere paragraph would've sufficed, your writing was most certainly appreciated. The questions you stated at the end of your last paragraph definitely proved to be thought-provoking. I also agree that we are selfish when dealing with such things like death and illness. I realize that these three paragraphs are your thoughts but, also keep in mind the consistency in your structuring. It's easy to digress from such a topic but, you did great.
From Attic (Mother):
Amber,
I agree with most of what you have to say here. My favorite line was when you questioned the reader: "When we think of the word doctor we think of some magical person who will make it his/her full responsibility to cure us. But who is underneath this label “doctor”, do we really know who he/she is?" It made me think about all those times I have had to rely on a doctor or a dentist. You are right, society makes us blind when it comes to our caregivers. It makes us believe as if we should have trust without any question for those who we depend on; and you are right, this should not be the case.
Mom
From Basement (Brother):
Amber,
When you said: "As a country we have modernized in many ways, yet we haven’t really modernized our healthcare system." I totally agree. We are always in a hurry to become the owner of the latest gadgets out there, but what about those who are not able to afford medical care for themself. I know that nothing is fair in life, but I think that healthcare is a topic that needs to be fair to all no matter what the case may be. I am aware that there are efforts being made, but we need to pick up our pace.
Nabil
Friday, January 21, 2011
Hwk 32
I would say there are a number of things that are nightmarish about our culture’s practices around illness and dying. As a country we have modernized in many ways, yet we haven’t really modernized our healthcare system. Living in a country where healthcare is not offered to all causes a number of problems for those without access to healthcare. I feel that this should definitely be considered nightmarish. No matter how different we might look, or how different are personalities may be, we are still all from the same species. I know I sound pretty cliché here, but we all know that this is a fact, and there is no way around it. While being well aware of this not much effort is being made. I think it’s scary to know that just because some people have a higher pay, they are able to afford health care and get better treatment. In the other hand, while other people who struggle to make enough to receive health care, not much medical attention is given to them.
Another nightmarish practice which is practiced in our culture is the reliability on complete strangers. When we become hurt or ill we automatically contact our caregivers; for many of us this would be our doctors. When we think of the word doctor we think of some magical person who will make it his/her full responsibility to cure us. But who is underneath this label “doctor”, do we really know who he/she is? Why are we so desperate to put our life in the hands of someone who we barely know of? Our society has made us create trust for stranger; personally I don’t think this is always a good thing.
After taking a part of this unit I realized that we are really selfish; even when it comes to situations which involve illness and death. We only care about what is best for us; not for the one who is suffering all the pain while being ill or in some cases near death. While visiting the ill and watching the documentary titled Near Death, I saw that no matter what condition the ill patient may be in, their close ones were always attempting to make all efforts for them to stay alive. I personally believe that this is pretty selfish of us; we never really seem to see what’s best for the individual who is suffering. The only question we have on mind is: “what will happen to us if they are dead?” But while we ask our self this question, do we ever try to think about what is best for the one we love? Shouldn’t we worry about what is best for them instead of what is best for us? Why are we so afraid of risking them to have a better chance by leaving us in this world? Has love made us all selfish?
Another nightmarish practice which is practiced in our culture is the reliability on complete strangers. When we become hurt or ill we automatically contact our caregivers; for many of us this would be our doctors. When we think of the word doctor we think of some magical person who will make it his/her full responsibility to cure us. But who is underneath this label “doctor”, do we really know who he/she is? Why are we so desperate to put our life in the hands of someone who we barely know of? Our society has made us create trust for stranger; personally I don’t think this is always a good thing.
After taking a part of this unit I realized that we are really selfish; even when it comes to situations which involve illness and death. We only care about what is best for us; not for the one who is suffering all the pain while being ill or in some cases near death. While visiting the ill and watching the documentary titled Near Death, I saw that no matter what condition the ill patient may be in, their close ones were always attempting to make all efforts for them to stay alive. I personally believe that this is pretty selfish of us; we never really seem to see what’s best for the individual who is suffering. The only question we have on mind is: “what will happen to us if they are dead?” But while we ask our self this question, do we ever try to think about what is best for the one we love? Shouldn’t we worry about what is best for them instead of what is best for us? Why are we so afraid of risking them to have a better chance by leaving us in this world? Has love made us all selfish?
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Hwk 31
From Bianca:
Amber,
The best part of your writing was when you reflected on how our society was gullible. We make choices and decisions without background information on the people that will be affected by such choices. I chose Proofreading as the Modality; I feel as though you provided a lot of thought-provoking work. However, you should work on your transitions from paragraph to paragraph. Refrain from sentence starters such as "I remember..." You're missing some commas here and there. One thing that I would point out for future reference is to always end your paragraphs with a concluding sentence that somehow reconnects back to your overarching point/thesis. Ending a paragraph with only a quote makes it seem like a cliffhanger or rather, a quote without analysis.
Bianca
From Kevin:
I read your post for depth and insight. I found myself shaking my head while reading your post, not because it is bad, but because it made me think about all the times I blindly trusted someone. That we find ourselves trusting people we don't know all the time, to make our food, to treat us while were sick, to teach us, and the list goes on and on. I think if something is insightful it gets you thinking. That's what your post does. It makes you think, what if this is happening to someone I know. Based off of your research there's a 16% chance it could be. It opens your eyes to things. This project had a lot of depth, as well as great insights.
From Sophia:
I really liked this part of your post:
"While taking a part of this interesting project I learned a number of things. Our society is very gullible; we trust individuals without making any attempt to learn much about them. Our society is too busy with unnecessary worries; we forget about making an attempt to learn about serious risk factors that may harm one later on. In this specific case people are willing to take a risk to put them self our a loved one in an institution with strangers who they have no clue where they come from and how big of a threat they may be. Some of the articles I read discussed that many of these residents fear of exposing these horrified accounts. It is usually their loved ones that make them do so. Not only does our society fear about exposing the idea of illness and death to the public, but we also have a fear of showing imperfection."
I thought this summed up your point well - that people don't really know what goes on in nursing homes, and that they don't bother to check. It was also a good comment on how people tend to act. I didn't know a lot about neglect and abuse in nursing homes before reading your post, and before you gave your speech I hadn't even thought about it, so this really opened my eyes.
From Basement (Brother):
Amber,
There was one part that really stood out while reading this. It was when you said: “Our society is too busy with unnecessary worries; we forget about making an attempt to learn about serious risk factors that may harm one later on. In this specific case people are willing to take a risk to put them self or a loved one in an institution with strangers who they have no clue where they come from and how big of a threat they may be.” You are right. As a community we believe that everything will turn out to be okay, but this is not always true. I think you chose to do your project on something that will raise awareness for a lot of people.
Nabil
From Attic (Mother):
Amber,
I think you chose a topic that can connect to many of us. I don’t know much about nursing homes because as you know in Pakistan the idea of nursing homes is not as common when compared to the United States. Back at home, the ill or the near death rarely depend on outsiders. They usually depend on their children to support them in their elder age. I was able to learn a lot while reading this. One sentence that I liked a lot was when you stated: “ Some of the articles I read discussed that many of these residents fear of exposing these horrified accounts. It is usually their loved ones that make them do so.” I agree with you, this society we live in is usually afraid to approach others about their flaws or problems. We have become used to this idea. I think this an insightful project you did; I gained a lot of information I was not well aware of beforehand.
Shahana
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Bianca,
I read your post while keeping beauty in mind. I personally think that you did a nice job with this assignment. You used a number of quotes from different resources and chose a topic that each and every one of us can do a well job of connecting to. Your sentences flowed well, and I was able to fully grasp all the concepts you were getting at while taking a part of this project. As a reader I was able to place myself in the situations you were referring to. One in particular was when you were talking about the fact that all of us will be near death at one point in our life and we will have to deal with it one way or another. It really made me stop and think about which choice I would prefer while being near death. Keep up the good work!
Amber
Hey Kevin,
I read your post while looking for depth and insight. I liked the topic you chose; to be honest I wasn’t really fond for learning about the HMOs and the health care flaws in the United States. But after reading your assignment, I was able to fully understand our flawed system and how it makes “bad things happen to good people”. I thought you made a great decision of interviewing a homeless man. Usually in our society we try to ignore the homeless and go amongst our daily lives as they live their lives on the streets as wallflowers. From what I can remember, I have never made an attempt to approach a homeless individual to ask about their personal life. While you were sharing the experiment you conducted in the outside world, I was able to learn that this was only one person out of the many who are suffering from a flawed health care system. While reading this I was able to understand where you stand at regarding this nationwide healthcare dilemma. For next time, I would advise you to proof read as there were a few grammar mistakes. Otherwise, nice job.
Amber
Amber,
The best part of your writing was when you reflected on how our society was gullible. We make choices and decisions without background information on the people that will be affected by such choices. I chose Proofreading as the Modality; I feel as though you provided a lot of thought-provoking work. However, you should work on your transitions from paragraph to paragraph. Refrain from sentence starters such as "I remember..." You're missing some commas here and there. One thing that I would point out for future reference is to always end your paragraphs with a concluding sentence that somehow reconnects back to your overarching point/thesis. Ending a paragraph with only a quote makes it seem like a cliffhanger or rather, a quote without analysis.
Bianca
From Kevin:
I read your post for depth and insight. I found myself shaking my head while reading your post, not because it is bad, but because it made me think about all the times I blindly trusted someone. That we find ourselves trusting people we don't know all the time, to make our food, to treat us while were sick, to teach us, and the list goes on and on. I think if something is insightful it gets you thinking. That's what your post does. It makes you think, what if this is happening to someone I know. Based off of your research there's a 16% chance it could be. It opens your eyes to things. This project had a lot of depth, as well as great insights.
From Sophia:
I really liked this part of your post:
"While taking a part of this interesting project I learned a number of things. Our society is very gullible; we trust individuals without making any attempt to learn much about them. Our society is too busy with unnecessary worries; we forget about making an attempt to learn about serious risk factors that may harm one later on. In this specific case people are willing to take a risk to put them self our a loved one in an institution with strangers who they have no clue where they come from and how big of a threat they may be. Some of the articles I read discussed that many of these residents fear of exposing these horrified accounts. It is usually their loved ones that make them do so. Not only does our society fear about exposing the idea of illness and death to the public, but we also have a fear of showing imperfection."
I thought this summed up your point well - that people don't really know what goes on in nursing homes, and that they don't bother to check. It was also a good comment on how people tend to act. I didn't know a lot about neglect and abuse in nursing homes before reading your post, and before you gave your speech I hadn't even thought about it, so this really opened my eyes.
From Basement (Brother):
Amber,
There was one part that really stood out while reading this. It was when you said: “Our society is too busy with unnecessary worries; we forget about making an attempt to learn about serious risk factors that may harm one later on. In this specific case people are willing to take a risk to put them self or a loved one in an institution with strangers who they have no clue where they come from and how big of a threat they may be.” You are right. As a community we believe that everything will turn out to be okay, but this is not always true. I think you chose to do your project on something that will raise awareness for a lot of people.
Nabil
From Attic (Mother):
Amber,
I think you chose a topic that can connect to many of us. I don’t know much about nursing homes because as you know in Pakistan the idea of nursing homes is not as common when compared to the United States. Back at home, the ill or the near death rarely depend on outsiders. They usually depend on their children to support them in their elder age. I was able to learn a lot while reading this. One sentence that I liked a lot was when you stated: “ Some of the articles I read discussed that many of these residents fear of exposing these horrified accounts. It is usually their loved ones that make them do so.” I agree with you, this society we live in is usually afraid to approach others about their flaws or problems. We have become used to this idea. I think this an insightful project you did; I gained a lot of information I was not well aware of beforehand.
Shahana
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Bianca,
I read your post while keeping beauty in mind. I personally think that you did a nice job with this assignment. You used a number of quotes from different resources and chose a topic that each and every one of us can do a well job of connecting to. Your sentences flowed well, and I was able to fully grasp all the concepts you were getting at while taking a part of this project. As a reader I was able to place myself in the situations you were referring to. One in particular was when you were talking about the fact that all of us will be near death at one point in our life and we will have to deal with it one way or another. It really made me stop and think about which choice I would prefer while being near death. Keep up the good work!
Amber
Hey Kevin,
I read your post while looking for depth and insight. I liked the topic you chose; to be honest I wasn’t really fond for learning about the HMOs and the health care flaws in the United States. But after reading your assignment, I was able to fully understand our flawed system and how it makes “bad things happen to good people”. I thought you made a great decision of interviewing a homeless man. Usually in our society we try to ignore the homeless and go amongst our daily lives as they live their lives on the streets as wallflowers. From what I can remember, I have never made an attempt to approach a homeless individual to ask about their personal life. While you were sharing the experiment you conducted in the outside world, I was able to learn that this was only one person out of the many who are suffering from a flawed health care system. While reading this I was able to understand where you stand at regarding this nationwide healthcare dilemma. For next time, I would advise you to proof read as there were a few grammar mistakes. Otherwise, nice job.
Amber
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Hwk 30
I decided to do a group project with Michelle and Larche. We choose to do a project about the issue of the poor treatment of residents in nursing homes. Abuse and neglect is something that occurs a lot in nursing homes, but our society tries to keep this hidden from us. Even though this isn't a topic only about illness and dying, we decided to base our research project around abuse and neglect occurring in nursing homes because to us the treatment of the ill and near death is of concern; in addition we are willing to let others aware of this. This aspect of illness and dying doesn't fully connect to our unit since it mostly focused on what we are usually prone to seeing in hospitals, and what families and patients experience during illness and death. We decided to take an extra step forward from this idea and look into something specific, which in our case would be such the poor treatment of the ill and near death residents in nursing homes. There were a few resources from class that can connect to this specific aspect. I remember Beth stating that we keep death and illness removed from society by conserving it in hospitals. We also had a few class discussions that revolved around the approach to death and illness from society. This connects to our project because this also applies to abuse and neglect taking place in nursing homes. It is hidden from society just as the idea of illness and death is.
While doing research on the internet about abuse occurring in nursing homes, I found that it was pretty hard to find something worth citing. There wasn't much I was able to refer to on the internet besides hotlines residents can use in order to call to report a complaint at a nursing home. I was looking for some type of personal story or an account from a resident or a family member of the resident experiencing poor care in a nursing home. Much of what I came across discussed the issue of abuse and negligence occurring at nursing homes a nationwide concern; in addition not many of these accounts are being reported. After taking some more time to do research, I was able to come across a few news reports dating back at various times that discussed issues regarding the treatments of the aged and ill at nursing homes. Back in July, 31st 2001 a report claims that there are 1,600 nursing homes located in the US that have been cited for abuse. Around 5,283 were reported for abuse violations. Examples of the types of abuse residents had experienced were being choked, kicked, or punched by other residents or staff members. According to this story, abuse occurring in nursing homes is on the rise: "In 1996, 5.9 percent of all nursing homes were cited for an abuse violation during their annual inspections; in 2000, 16 percent of nursing homes were cited." (Whitaker, Bill)
In November 15th, 2004 a news report claims that sexual abuse is another form of abuse that occurs in nursing homes. The mother of Sandra Banning was sexually abused in a nursing home by an aged man who had a long 13 page list taking place as his criminal file. This proves that not much attention is given to the type of people that are being admitted as a resident in these nursing homes. They seem to be automatically admitted without any further research on whom they really are as a character. Knowing this may make a loved one or ill patient have second thoughts about becoming a resident to a nursing home. Without doing a proper research or a further background check on one, how will a nursing home be considered a sanctuary for an aged individual near death? Another account reported on December 2nd, 2008 claims that six teens were charged for abusing residents at a nursing home. They taunted residents until they screamed. This specific nursing home reports that 15 residents who had Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder were abused within 5 months.
At first our group decided to make a trip to a local nursing home and possibly be able to do an interview or a study there with residents and nurses. After making a few attempts to do so, we realized that this project of ours was not going the way we had planned. We called a few nursing homes prior to visiting, but the people who received our calls seemed to be hesitant to have volunteers come in and gather data for a study. While on the phone, we were told many times that it would not be possible for us to come in because the residents and the nurses would not like that. After placing a call to different places, we realized that time was running out and we had to make a quick decision. Later on we decided that it wouldn't be possible for us to visit a nursing home in time to use it for our project. So we decided to record a call we made so we can share it to the class. This specific conversation is me calling up a nursing home in the city and having a conversation with a lady in charge at the office of a nursing home. I asked her if it would be possible for us to make a visit and possibly witness a normal day of a resident, and ask a few questions with the nurses working there. But after making many attempts we gave up. This taught me that sometimes we have to accept no as an answer.
While taking a part of this interesting project I learned a number of things. Our society is very gullible; we trust individuals without making any attempt to learn much about them. Our society is too busy with unnecessary worries; we forget about making an attempt to learn about serious risk factors that may harm one later on. In this specific case people are willing to take a risk to put them self our a loved one in an institution with strangers who they have no clue where they come from and how big of a threat they may be. Some of the articles I read discussed that many of these residents fear of exposing these horrified accounts. It is usually their loved ones that make them do so. Not only does our society fear about exposing the idea of illness and death to the public, but we also have a fear of showing imperfection.
While taking a part of this project, I was able to see many things about dominant social practices surrounding illness and death in our society. While doing my own research, I was able to fully understand that none of us really want to happily accept the fact that we will all die. I was also able to learn about different reactions from our society when approaching an individual who is ill or near death. Usually we approach death with pity, but after researching on abuse at nursing homes I was able to look through a different angle. Hatred is also a form of approach in illness or death, but we never really expect that. Abuse and neglect occurring in nursing homes is something to be concerned about because we need to learn about the correct approach, if any to illness and death. People can respond to death and illness in many different ways; in this specific case with hatred. I was able to realize that we all have different reactions to everything. Even though approach to death and illness with hatred is not something that our society accepts, it occurs and not many are willing to accept it. There may be various triggers that can cause one to react with hatred towards an ill or near death patient and we may not be well aware of this. But one thing I am indeed sure of is that our society is weird, and we try our best to disguise it to be seen as normal.
http://www.nursing-home-abuse-resource.com/care_center/nursing_home_statistics.html
http://ag.ca.gov/bmfea/elder.php
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/07/30/national/main304038.shtml
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/11/15/eveningnews/main655704.shtml
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,460626,00.html
While doing research on the internet about abuse occurring in nursing homes, I found that it was pretty hard to find something worth citing. There wasn't much I was able to refer to on the internet besides hotlines residents can use in order to call to report a complaint at a nursing home. I was looking for some type of personal story or an account from a resident or a family member of the resident experiencing poor care in a nursing home. Much of what I came across discussed the issue of abuse and negligence occurring at nursing homes a nationwide concern; in addition not many of these accounts are being reported. After taking some more time to do research, I was able to come across a few news reports dating back at various times that discussed issues regarding the treatments of the aged and ill at nursing homes. Back in July, 31st 2001 a report claims that there are 1,600 nursing homes located in the US that have been cited for abuse. Around 5,283 were reported for abuse violations. Examples of the types of abuse residents had experienced were being choked, kicked, or punched by other residents or staff members. According to this story, abuse occurring in nursing homes is on the rise: "In 1996, 5.9 percent of all nursing homes were cited for an abuse violation during their annual inspections; in 2000, 16 percent of nursing homes were cited." (Whitaker, Bill)
In November 15th, 2004 a news report claims that sexual abuse is another form of abuse that occurs in nursing homes. The mother of Sandra Banning was sexually abused in a nursing home by an aged man who had a long 13 page list taking place as his criminal file. This proves that not much attention is given to the type of people that are being admitted as a resident in these nursing homes. They seem to be automatically admitted without any further research on whom they really are as a character. Knowing this may make a loved one or ill patient have second thoughts about becoming a resident to a nursing home. Without doing a proper research or a further background check on one, how will a nursing home be considered a sanctuary for an aged individual near death? Another account reported on December 2nd, 2008 claims that six teens were charged for abusing residents at a nursing home. They taunted residents until they screamed. This specific nursing home reports that 15 residents who had Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder were abused within 5 months.
At first our group decided to make a trip to a local nursing home and possibly be able to do an interview or a study there with residents and nurses. After making a few attempts to do so, we realized that this project of ours was not going the way we had planned. We called a few nursing homes prior to visiting, but the people who received our calls seemed to be hesitant to have volunteers come in and gather data for a study. While on the phone, we were told many times that it would not be possible for us to come in because the residents and the nurses would not like that. After placing a call to different places, we realized that time was running out and we had to make a quick decision. Later on we decided that it wouldn't be possible for us to visit a nursing home in time to use it for our project. So we decided to record a call we made so we can share it to the class. This specific conversation is me calling up a nursing home in the city and having a conversation with a lady in charge at the office of a nursing home. I asked her if it would be possible for us to make a visit and possibly witness a normal day of a resident, and ask a few questions with the nurses working there. But after making many attempts we gave up. This taught me that sometimes we have to accept no as an answer.
While taking a part of this interesting project I learned a number of things. Our society is very gullible; we trust individuals without making any attempt to learn much about them. Our society is too busy with unnecessary worries; we forget about making an attempt to learn about serious risk factors that may harm one later on. In this specific case people are willing to take a risk to put them self our a loved one in an institution with strangers who they have no clue where they come from and how big of a threat they may be. Some of the articles I read discussed that many of these residents fear of exposing these horrified accounts. It is usually their loved ones that make them do so. Not only does our society fear about exposing the idea of illness and death to the public, but we also have a fear of showing imperfection.
While taking a part of this project, I was able to see many things about dominant social practices surrounding illness and death in our society. While doing my own research, I was able to fully understand that none of us really want to happily accept the fact that we will all die. I was also able to learn about different reactions from our society when approaching an individual who is ill or near death. Usually we approach death with pity, but after researching on abuse at nursing homes I was able to look through a different angle. Hatred is also a form of approach in illness or death, but we never really expect that. Abuse and neglect occurring in nursing homes is something to be concerned about because we need to learn about the correct approach, if any to illness and death. People can respond to death and illness in many different ways; in this specific case with hatred. I was able to realize that we all have different reactions to everything. Even though approach to death and illness with hatred is not something that our society accepts, it occurs and not many are willing to accept it. There may be various triggers that can cause one to react with hatred towards an ill or near death patient and we may not be well aware of this. But one thing I am indeed sure of is that our society is weird, and we try our best to disguise it to be seen as normal.
http://www.nursing-home-abuse-resource.com/care_center/nursing_home_statistics.html
http://ag.ca.gov/bmfea/elder.php
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/07/30/national/main304038.shtml
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/11/15/eveningnews/main655704.shtml
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,460626,00.html
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Hwk 29
Facing Terminal Illness:
Facing terminal illness can be a different experience for each and every patient. Yet there is one thing common indeed; there is no way around it. It is a fact that this terminally ill patient will approach death in the near time; even though it might be hard to accept the patient and his or her loved ones will have to accept. The patient and his loved ones may react to this bitter fact by becoming a fighter or stoic as did Beth’s husband Eric. Others may respond to it with a different approach such as depression, or have positive insights on life. In Tuesdays with Morrie, a sociologist professor named Morrie is diagnosed with a terminal disease labeled as ALS. Upon finding this out, a former student of his then begins to meet with his sick professor every Tuesday and becomes aware that even at his age he has much more to learn about life. Morrie tells Mitch many of his insights while being labeled as a terminally ill patient. At one point he states: "As you grow old, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, its also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it." (Alboom, 118)
There are many different responses that we receive from terminally ill patients. Upon finding out that their days are literally numbered, we learn about patients with positive, stoic and depressed reactions. Beth told us that her husband responded to his incurable illness as a fighter but remained stoic. This is a common response from the society we live in today; we suddenly become aware of our body. We try to digest a bitter fact that we are all aware of. Even though we try to fight against death we are always defeated, may it be sooner or later. Beth and her family approached Eric’s sickness in a positive and friendly way considering that he may no longer be with them for a long period of time. Upon knowing the truth about her husband, Beth tried to avoid negative thoughts: “ Sometimes I would be taking Evan to school and I would start to have negative thoughts about Eric’s illness, but then I would try to ignore them” In Tuesdays with Morrie readers were able to view Morrie as an individual who approached his terminal illness by gaining positive insights about illness and death. This shows us that there is a wide variety of reactions that one can receive from a terminally ill patient.
Process of Dying:
Death can approach one in any shape or form; may it take place in a hospital, a home or on the street. You may know that it will occur soon or you may not, but this is not up to us. There are many steps that need to be reached for one to be claimed dead. Beth's husband Eric was considered a healthy man until he was diagnosed with Advanced Metastatic Kidney Cancer. From then on to his death Beth and her husband went through a series of hospital visits, chemo therapy, and clinical trials. But in Eric's case it was a bit too late since he had reached to stage four meaning that the cancer had been fully spread throughout his body. As time went by Eric was having dramatic weight loss, changed his diet to J ello and wasn't capable of using the restroom himself. Eric had a home death in his bed early in the morning.
There are many changes that take place upon the ill patient and his loved ones. In Beth's case she grew closer to her husband after he was diagnosed with cancer. She stated: "these were the best days of her marriage out of the 27 years we spent together, because there was nothing else to think about but him." The process of dying is definitely a time in which the ill patient and their loved ones become closer to one another and create a tight knit bondage. In Near Death viewers were exposed to a new world that is usually kept away from the public view. Viewers were able to take a glimpse inside a hospital making all efforts to cure their ill patients. Near Death showed the process of death taking place in hospital. With doctors discussing possible alternatives to visits from loved ones; all efforts were made to keep the ill patient live a longer life.
Isolation:
Isolation is a big role that plays in illness and dying; may it be from the ill patient or from a beloved one. When becoming sick or near death we either become closer with our loved ones or we suddenly become really isolated. While making a trip to the hospital, I was exposed many patients with their their loved ones, while some were left alone as they stared at the ceiling. This may have been because they were not close with their families, or because they refused to have someone visit them; this may be a result of stigma. Being ill or near death causes a intense change in ones life, whether it be positive or negative. It is common for the ill patient to feel as if they are apart from those who live their life happily.
In Stigma Goffman states: “The attitudes we normal have toward a person with a stigma, and the actions we take in regard to him, are well known, since these responses are what benevolent social action is designed to soften and ameliorate. By definition, of course, we believe the person with a stigma is not quite human.” (Goffman, 5) “ When one becomes near death or ill, others treat him/her as if they are from a different planet visiting our world. We treat them differently when compared to our treatment of others. Some individuals try to make a gain for them self while being stigmatized. " The stigmatized individual is likely to use his stigma for “secondary gains,” as an excuse for ill success that has come his way for other reasons: For years the scar, harelip or misshapen nose has been looked on as a handicap, and its importance in the social and emotional adjustment is unconsciously all embracing.” (Goffman, 10)
Being Sick:
Being sick is quite an experience, and all of us have experienced it, may it be one way or another. While thinking to my self and gathering opinions from family, I noticed that upon becoming sick we are treated differently. Being sick helps us experience a new side of ourself, we leran to accept that something in our body is not quite right. This is when we realize that we start to worry about our self in a sense that we should start to take better care of our self. While sick we become aware of our bodily functions; we become aware of our physicality. Talking with my family members and from my own experiences, I feel that being sick is another thing on the list that brings us together. Becoming sick is like a pinch we receive to wake up from a good dream. In this time period we realize that we will not live this life for eternity, instead we have a limited time. In light cases our bodies tell us to take better care of ourselves, while serious cases reveal that we have a limited time to live life. There are many different ways each culture approaches the topic labeled sickness and death. In our society today, death and illness has a curtain covering it so that it stays protected from the public. Our society gives us many different options to approach sickness and death; such as the options of holistic or homeopathic remedies. By attempting to cure our bodies with these treatments, we are able to take a step back and view the world from a different angle. Upon becoming sick we all relate to the quote from an indian movie: " live... be happy... smile... Who knows? Tomorrow may not be..."
Facing terminal illness can be a different experience for each and every patient. Yet there is one thing common indeed; there is no way around it. It is a fact that this terminally ill patient will approach death in the near time; even though it might be hard to accept the patient and his or her loved ones will have to accept. The patient and his loved ones may react to this bitter fact by becoming a fighter or stoic as did Beth’s husband Eric. Others may respond to it with a different approach such as depression, or have positive insights on life. In Tuesdays with Morrie, a sociologist professor named Morrie is diagnosed with a terminal disease labeled as ALS. Upon finding this out, a former student of his then begins to meet with his sick professor every Tuesday and becomes aware that even at his age he has much more to learn about life. Morrie tells Mitch many of his insights while being labeled as a terminally ill patient. At one point he states: "As you grow old, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, its also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it." (Alboom, 118)
There are many different responses that we receive from terminally ill patients. Upon finding out that their days are literally numbered, we learn about patients with positive, stoic and depressed reactions. Beth told us that her husband responded to his incurable illness as a fighter but remained stoic. This is a common response from the society we live in today; we suddenly become aware of our body. We try to digest a bitter fact that we are all aware of. Even though we try to fight against death we are always defeated, may it be sooner or later. Beth and her family approached Eric’s sickness in a positive and friendly way considering that he may no longer be with them for a long period of time. Upon knowing the truth about her husband, Beth tried to avoid negative thoughts: “ Sometimes I would be taking Evan to school and I would start to have negative thoughts about Eric’s illness, but then I would try to ignore them” In Tuesdays with Morrie readers were able to view Morrie as an individual who approached his terminal illness by gaining positive insights about illness and death. This shows us that there is a wide variety of reactions that one can receive from a terminally ill patient.
Process of Dying:
Death can approach one in any shape or form; may it take place in a hospital, a home or on the street. You may know that it will occur soon or you may not, but this is not up to us. There are many steps that need to be reached for one to be claimed dead. Beth's husband Eric was considered a healthy man until he was diagnosed with Advanced Metastatic Kidney Cancer. From then on to his death Beth and her husband went through a series of hospital visits, chemo therapy, and clinical trials. But in Eric's case it was a bit too late since he had reached to stage four meaning that the cancer had been fully spread throughout his body. As time went by Eric was having dramatic weight loss, changed his diet to J ello and wasn't capable of using the restroom himself. Eric had a home death in his bed early in the morning.
There are many changes that take place upon the ill patient and his loved ones. In Beth's case she grew closer to her husband after he was diagnosed with cancer. She stated: "these were the best days of her marriage out of the 27 years we spent together, because there was nothing else to think about but him." The process of dying is definitely a time in which the ill patient and their loved ones become closer to one another and create a tight knit bondage. In Near Death viewers were exposed to a new world that is usually kept away from the public view. Viewers were able to take a glimpse inside a hospital making all efforts to cure their ill patients. Near Death showed the process of death taking place in hospital. With doctors discussing possible alternatives to visits from loved ones; all efforts were made to keep the ill patient live a longer life.
Isolation:
Isolation is a big role that plays in illness and dying; may it be from the ill patient or from a beloved one. When becoming sick or near death we either become closer with our loved ones or we suddenly become really isolated. While making a trip to the hospital, I was exposed many patients with their their loved ones, while some were left alone as they stared at the ceiling. This may have been because they were not close with their families, or because they refused to have someone visit them; this may be a result of stigma. Being ill or near death causes a intense change in ones life, whether it be positive or negative. It is common for the ill patient to feel as if they are apart from those who live their life happily.
In Stigma Goffman states: “The attitudes we normal have toward a person with a stigma, and the actions we take in regard to him, are well known, since these responses are what benevolent social action is designed to soften and ameliorate. By definition, of course, we believe the person with a stigma is not quite human.” (Goffman, 5) “ When one becomes near death or ill, others treat him/her as if they are from a different planet visiting our world. We treat them differently when compared to our treatment of others. Some individuals try to make a gain for them self while being stigmatized. " The stigmatized individual is likely to use his stigma for “secondary gains,” as an excuse for ill success that has come his way for other reasons: For years the scar, harelip or misshapen nose has been looked on as a handicap, and its importance in the social and emotional adjustment is unconsciously all embracing.” (Goffman, 10)
Being Sick:
Being sick is quite an experience, and all of us have experienced it, may it be one way or another. While thinking to my self and gathering opinions from family, I noticed that upon becoming sick we are treated differently. Being sick helps us experience a new side of ourself, we leran to accept that something in our body is not quite right. This is when we realize that we start to worry about our self in a sense that we should start to take better care of our self. While sick we become aware of our bodily functions; we become aware of our physicality. Talking with my family members and from my own experiences, I feel that being sick is another thing on the list that brings us together. Becoming sick is like a pinch we receive to wake up from a good dream. In this time period we realize that we will not live this life for eternity, instead we have a limited time. In light cases our bodies tell us to take better care of ourselves, while serious cases reveal that we have a limited time to live life. There are many different ways each culture approaches the topic labeled sickness and death. In our society today, death and illness has a curtain covering it so that it stays protected from the public. Our society gives us many different options to approach sickness and death; such as the options of holistic or homeopathic remedies. By attempting to cure our bodies with these treatments, we are able to take a step back and view the world from a different angle. Upon becoming sick we all relate to the quote from an indian movie: " live... be happy... smile... Who knows? Tomorrow may not be..."
Monday, January 3, 2011
Hwk 28
Bianca,
I am providing you feedback based on the depth and insight you provided in this assignment. Reading your response made me feel as if I was there with you while you were visiting Bernice. I can picture her frail body laying in bed, with nothing much left to do in this world. I enjoyed the descriptive details you used, while learning about your internship at Mount Sinai hospital. You gave some nice insights to the reader when you were connecting your experience of visiting Bernice to the presentation Beth gave us about her husband's death. Although, I would have liked it better if you had went a bit more further with these insights. I felt like your description overpowered your insights. For next time I would advise you to keep your insights proportional to your details. You left me with an urge to read more of how this can connect to other sources we referred to in this unit. Overall you did a nice job.
Amber
Kevin,
I am commenting on your response based on perspective. You shared an interesting story about your grandmother being ill for some time and how she made a dramatic recovery by the help of oxygen tanks. As a reader this raises my hopes for many things in life. Usually in illness and death related situations we tend to ignore the worst and hope for the best. By witnessing your grandmother go through a phase of being seriously sick, you and your family became worried which triggered them to prepare for the worst. Your mother thought that your grandmother would be dead by August, yet the outcomes proved her wrong. Having this story take place in your life makes me feel that you have a different approach to illness and death in society. Our culture tends to ignore the obvious signs of bad news, by trying to think positive. I feel as if doing so does not help much, but in your case it did. Your grandmother is much healthier when compared to the state she was in some time ago. By reading this I felt like I have changed some of my personal views on death and illness. Your work will cause many to take a new approach on illness and death. Keep it up :)
Amber
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shahana (Mom-Attic):
Amber, I agree when you say: "In our culture we have always been taught to have a positive approach to illness and death, which makes us weak when we try to digest the bitter fact of death. " When we hear about someone becoming ill, or near death we shower them with well wishes and unnecessary materials to offer our pity towards them. Our society wants us to always hope for the best, but when the outcomes turns out to be the opposite we have nothing left to do but grieve about the loss of a beloved member in our life.
Nabil (Brother-Basement):
Amber, I liked your last sentence: "Why do we risk the life of our loved ones in the hands of a stranger who claims to have a medical degree?" I think you made a good point, It made me apply this to the real world out there. We automatically run to the doctor as soon as we get sick, but how are we so sure that he/she will find the right cure for us? It also tells me about your thoughts on our society. I will now have second thoughts about visiting the doctor next time.
Kevin:
I read this post looking for depth and insight. This post had a lot of powerful questions and great insights. An example of this from your first paragraph would be, "Atop the table besides him sits a bouquet of flowers. How will this contribute in making him feel better? Did placing these flowers here guarantee that he will be living another day? Why waste all this money to show pity?" When you ask questions like these, it makes the reader think. I know it made me think, and it kind of just made a common practice in our society look stupid. Questions like these keep the reader interested and engaged. Furthermore, when you answer the questions you pose it gets the reader back into the account and takes them deeper. This writing was very detailed, very vivid and very interesting. It is one of those pieces where I can tell you put a lot of effort into the writing. Good work, I can't wait to read more!
Bianca:
Amber,
Your post is truly beautiful. The details you used posed as a perfect way to introduce this situation. The best part of your blog post was, " I watch as his chest repeats a countless cycle of slowly rising and falling." It really created a picture in my mind, an incredible visual aid. On this blog post, I am going to focus on the modality, Proofreading. Your punctuation is almost perfect, some flaws here and there. You should think about making your main points more concise, though I think your attention to detail compensates for that.
Bianca
I am providing you feedback based on the depth and insight you provided in this assignment. Reading your response made me feel as if I was there with you while you were visiting Bernice. I can picture her frail body laying in bed, with nothing much left to do in this world. I enjoyed the descriptive details you used, while learning about your internship at Mount Sinai hospital. You gave some nice insights to the reader when you were connecting your experience of visiting Bernice to the presentation Beth gave us about her husband's death. Although, I would have liked it better if you had went a bit more further with these insights. I felt like your description overpowered your insights. For next time I would advise you to keep your insights proportional to your details. You left me with an urge to read more of how this can connect to other sources we referred to in this unit. Overall you did a nice job.
Amber
Kevin,
I am commenting on your response based on perspective. You shared an interesting story about your grandmother being ill for some time and how she made a dramatic recovery by the help of oxygen tanks. As a reader this raises my hopes for many things in life. Usually in illness and death related situations we tend to ignore the worst and hope for the best. By witnessing your grandmother go through a phase of being seriously sick, you and your family became worried which triggered them to prepare for the worst. Your mother thought that your grandmother would be dead by August, yet the outcomes proved her wrong. Having this story take place in your life makes me feel that you have a different approach to illness and death in society. Our culture tends to ignore the obvious signs of bad news, by trying to think positive. I feel as if doing so does not help much, but in your case it did. Your grandmother is much healthier when compared to the state she was in some time ago. By reading this I felt like I have changed some of my personal views on death and illness. Your work will cause many to take a new approach on illness and death. Keep it up :)
Amber
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shahana (Mom-Attic):
Amber, I agree when you say: "In our culture we have always been taught to have a positive approach to illness and death, which makes us weak when we try to digest the bitter fact of death. " When we hear about someone becoming ill, or near death we shower them with well wishes and unnecessary materials to offer our pity towards them. Our society wants us to always hope for the best, but when the outcomes turns out to be the opposite we have nothing left to do but grieve about the loss of a beloved member in our life.
Nabil (Brother-Basement):
Amber, I liked your last sentence: "Why do we risk the life of our loved ones in the hands of a stranger who claims to have a medical degree?" I think you made a good point, It made me apply this to the real world out there. We automatically run to the doctor as soon as we get sick, but how are we so sure that he/she will find the right cure for us? It also tells me about your thoughts on our society. I will now have second thoughts about visiting the doctor next time.
Kevin:
I read this post looking for depth and insight. This post had a lot of powerful questions and great insights. An example of this from your first paragraph would be, "Atop the table besides him sits a bouquet of flowers. How will this contribute in making him feel better? Did placing these flowers here guarantee that he will be living another day? Why waste all this money to show pity?" When you ask questions like these, it makes the reader think. I know it made me think, and it kind of just made a common practice in our society look stupid. Questions like these keep the reader interested and engaged. Furthermore, when you answer the questions you pose it gets the reader back into the account and takes them deeper. This writing was very detailed, very vivid and very interesting. It is one of those pieces where I can tell you put a lot of effort into the writing. Good work, I can't wait to read more!
Bianca:
Amber,
Your post is truly beautiful. The details you used posed as a perfect way to introduce this situation. The best part of your blog post was, " I watch as his chest repeats a countless cycle of slowly rising and falling." It really created a picture in my mind, an incredible visual aid. On this blog post, I am going to focus on the modality, Proofreading. Your punctuation is almost perfect, some flaws here and there. You should think about making your main points more concise, though I think your attention to detail compensates for that.
Bianca
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Hwk 27
Louis lies there helplessly, with an IV drip that connects to a vein in his right hand. Besides him sits his son; he looks pale, tired and stressed. I can tell he hasn’t been caring much about himself. Louis is facing upwards, towards the ceiling; his eyes are shut and his mouth shows a small gap where he is breathing from. I watch as his chest repeats a countless cycle of slowly rising and falling. I keep hearing the soft beep of the heart beat monitor. Most of the area surrounding us is white or blue, cold to the touch. Doctors and nurses walk around from one patient to another. Some are attending phones while some are talking with coworkers or the care takers of patients. The nurses wear blue scrubs, while doctors roam around in their white coats; sanitizing their hands every so often. I hear an announcement about the visiting hours for patients. Unfortunately Louis doesn’t have much to say in the condition he is in. He is unconscious, barley breathing; yet still alive by looking at his heart beat monitor. I think to myself, does he really want to stay alive in this condition? Is he willing to go through all this pain and suffering just to see another day in this world?
Atop the table besides him sits a bouquet of flowers. How will this contribute in making him feel better? Did placing these flowers here guarantee that he will be living another day? Why waste all this money to show pity? This is what society teaches us to do, to make a “nice” gesture so we can be seen as doing something really caring. But why do we care so much about attempting to show this “nice” gesture by buying these items which are completely useless to the ill? Here is a guy who is unconscious, he lies on a hospital bed with no idea what surrounds him. What purpose do the flowers serve in this situation? Our culture makes it seem as if we are expected to purchase unnecessary objects to show that we dearly “care” our loved one(s).
When we are close to the individual that is sick and dying, we tend to lose interest in our own life. The son of this elderly man is very worried, as if it is his life which is being questioned at the moment. There is nothing he can do in this situation to help his father out; this is one thing which is completely out of his hands. When sickness or death arrives upon one, there is not much we can do but hope; as humans we over use this idea of hope. When we see that things don’t look so great for the future, we force out these negative thoughts from our minds. We make believe that everything will be okay; when in reality it never will be okay. In our culture we have always been taught to have a positive approach to illness and death, which makes us weak when we try to digest the bitter fact of death. We will hope for the best and pray that all will be well towards the end, but isn’t it the end that we are afraid of?
The hospital scene was much like what I saw in Near Death. One specific part from this documentary kept coming up in my mind while I was visiting Louis. It was when the guy was answering a phone call received from a ill patient’s family. The family of the ill individual was calling to figure out the condition of their loved one. In his reply the man who received the call said “It’s in God’s hands”. This idea of everything being left out to the open was shown a lot throughout my hospital visit. Nobody looked as if they were willing to discuss illness or death in such an open manner. They always tried to make the situation seem better through the use of positive words. I also kept recalling when Beth stated that “there comes a time where one has to let go”. At the same time I thought to myself: what is the use of a hospital if at the end we are all expected to let go. Reading Mountains Beyond Mountains also helped me get a better view of doctors attending all these ill patients. After reading about Farmer, I was able to apply his thoughts to the doctors I saw in the hospital I visited. Watching them scurry around attending one patient, then serving the next; I was easily able to tell that like any other job their job is not easy at all. Atop of that, they have a heavy load on their shoulders since they will be the one to blame if something were to go wrong with a patient. Which makes me think, why do we risk the life of our loved ones in the hands of a stranger who claims to have a medical degree?
Atop the table besides him sits a bouquet of flowers. How will this contribute in making him feel better? Did placing these flowers here guarantee that he will be living another day? Why waste all this money to show pity? This is what society teaches us to do, to make a “nice” gesture so we can be seen as doing something really caring. But why do we care so much about attempting to show this “nice” gesture by buying these items which are completely useless to the ill? Here is a guy who is unconscious, he lies on a hospital bed with no idea what surrounds him. What purpose do the flowers serve in this situation? Our culture makes it seem as if we are expected to purchase unnecessary objects to show that we dearly “care” our loved one(s).
When we are close to the individual that is sick and dying, we tend to lose interest in our own life. The son of this elderly man is very worried, as if it is his life which is being questioned at the moment. There is nothing he can do in this situation to help his father out; this is one thing which is completely out of his hands. When sickness or death arrives upon one, there is not much we can do but hope; as humans we over use this idea of hope. When we see that things don’t look so great for the future, we force out these negative thoughts from our minds. We make believe that everything will be okay; when in reality it never will be okay. In our culture we have always been taught to have a positive approach to illness and death, which makes us weak when we try to digest the bitter fact of death. We will hope for the best and pray that all will be well towards the end, but isn’t it the end that we are afraid of?
The hospital scene was much like what I saw in Near Death. One specific part from this documentary kept coming up in my mind while I was visiting Louis. It was when the guy was answering a phone call received from a ill patient’s family. The family of the ill individual was calling to figure out the condition of their loved one. In his reply the man who received the call said “It’s in God’s hands”. This idea of everything being left out to the open was shown a lot throughout my hospital visit. Nobody looked as if they were willing to discuss illness or death in such an open manner. They always tried to make the situation seem better through the use of positive words. I also kept recalling when Beth stated that “there comes a time where one has to let go”. At the same time I thought to myself: what is the use of a hospital if at the end we are all expected to let go. Reading Mountains Beyond Mountains also helped me get a better view of doctors attending all these ill patients. After reading about Farmer, I was able to apply his thoughts to the doctors I saw in the hospital I visited. Watching them scurry around attending one patient, then serving the next; I was easily able to tell that like any other job their job is not easy at all. Atop of that, they have a heavy load on their shoulders since they will be the one to blame if something were to go wrong with a patient. Which makes me think, why do we risk the life of our loved ones in the hands of a stranger who claims to have a medical degree?
Hwk 26
Sicko: Fifty Million Americans have no access to health insurance
Near Death: Doctors make every effort to make the ill patients family content, instead of doing what is best for the patient, life isn’t always the best option for the extremely ill.
Class discussion and Beth’s presentation: We tend to keep illness and death hidden away in hospitals
Mountains Beyond Mountains: For an individual who pursues a career in the medical field it is always best to make every ounce of effort in order to keep one alive. At least at the end you wouldn’t be as regretful.
Near Death: We try to dance around the idea that one will die, so we turn to phrases such as: “it’s in God’s hands” to make it seem like there is still hope, when in reality there isn’t much left
I was able to benefit from all the sources used while taking part of this course titled illness and dying. The class discussions, guest speaker, book, and documentaries all assisted in making me mold the idea of how illness and dying is taken as in our community. It is hard to choose one specific source, but if I had to I would choose the presentation done by the guest speaker. I was glad to take part of Beth’s presentation while she discussed with us her personal experience with her husband’s sudden illness and death. Not only was it nice to have a new face in the classroom, but I was also glad to have her insights on such a topic. Not many of us are open about death or illness; we refer to it as we would for a private matter. Instead, Beth was brave enough to discuss a personal and horrific event that too place in her life with a room full of strangers. Having her come in definitely helped me form an idea of how illness and death is carried out in our culture.
I am sure that we are all clear that we are afraid of death; but why is this? I know we have touched on this a bit with the idea of taboo, but I want to dig deeper into this. Why are we oh so afraid about dying? I guess I am being hypocritical here because I too am afraid of death…but what causes this feel of apprehension? What is to blame for it? I think a class discussion about this would be nice. Or maybe we can question a seriously sick person about this matter. Why are we willing to do anything just so we can live in this obstacle course titled “life”? We are always struggling while we take a part of life; trying to learn how to ride a bike, stressing about doing well in school, trying to maintain a good profile, etc… But why are we willing to do all this just so we can grow old and have it all taken away with a blink of an eye. We are well aware that we will approach death one day, so why make all these struggles in life and waste all this time? Why not have your life taken away the instant it is given to you?
To be honest, I never took the time to think about illness and dying before taking a part of this unit. After hearing what Beth had to say, reading the book I was assigned to read and watching the documentaries in class I am now able to look at illness and death from a different angle. Watching Sicko was a unique way to see how our country compares and contrasts to other countries when it comes to health care. Near Death tended to take a different approach of illness and dying. By viewing what went on in the Beth Israel hospital located in Boston, I was able to see what goes on in the life of a doctor and a sick patient. The relationship they have and what not. It made me aware that society doesn’t really make the patient his or her first priority. I guess in some way they do, but as Beth said, sometimes you just have to let go. But why are we so damn afraid of letting go?
I feel as if in order to make a unit “complete” we should go on a trip as a class, so we can go out into the real world and see what we were taught in action for ourselves. I think a trip to a nursing home would be appropriate for this specific unit. It can be an all day trip, a one to one session with an elderly or sick person. Sometimes drugs are not the only cure for the sick and dying. Its always nice to see a new face, and know that someone is out there that is willing to spend their time helping another. I would also like to read the thoughts of more people about Illness and death in our culture.
Near Death: Doctors make every effort to make the ill patients family content, instead of doing what is best for the patient, life isn’t always the best option for the extremely ill.
Class discussion and Beth’s presentation: We tend to keep illness and death hidden away in hospitals
Mountains Beyond Mountains: For an individual who pursues a career in the medical field it is always best to make every ounce of effort in order to keep one alive. At least at the end you wouldn’t be as regretful.
Near Death: We try to dance around the idea that one will die, so we turn to phrases such as: “it’s in God’s hands” to make it seem like there is still hope, when in reality there isn’t much left
I was able to benefit from all the sources used while taking part of this course titled illness and dying. The class discussions, guest speaker, book, and documentaries all assisted in making me mold the idea of how illness and dying is taken as in our community. It is hard to choose one specific source, but if I had to I would choose the presentation done by the guest speaker. I was glad to take part of Beth’s presentation while she discussed with us her personal experience with her husband’s sudden illness and death. Not only was it nice to have a new face in the classroom, but I was also glad to have her insights on such a topic. Not many of us are open about death or illness; we refer to it as we would for a private matter. Instead, Beth was brave enough to discuss a personal and horrific event that too place in her life with a room full of strangers. Having her come in definitely helped me form an idea of how illness and death is carried out in our culture.
I am sure that we are all clear that we are afraid of death; but why is this? I know we have touched on this a bit with the idea of taboo, but I want to dig deeper into this. Why are we oh so afraid about dying? I guess I am being hypocritical here because I too am afraid of death…but what causes this feel of apprehension? What is to blame for it? I think a class discussion about this would be nice. Or maybe we can question a seriously sick person about this matter. Why are we willing to do anything just so we can live in this obstacle course titled “life”? We are always struggling while we take a part of life; trying to learn how to ride a bike, stressing about doing well in school, trying to maintain a good profile, etc… But why are we willing to do all this just so we can grow old and have it all taken away with a blink of an eye. We are well aware that we will approach death one day, so why make all these struggles in life and waste all this time? Why not have your life taken away the instant it is given to you?
To be honest, I never took the time to think about illness and dying before taking a part of this unit. After hearing what Beth had to say, reading the book I was assigned to read and watching the documentaries in class I am now able to look at illness and death from a different angle. Watching Sicko was a unique way to see how our country compares and contrasts to other countries when it comes to health care. Near Death tended to take a different approach of illness and dying. By viewing what went on in the Beth Israel hospital located in Boston, I was able to see what goes on in the life of a doctor and a sick patient. The relationship they have and what not. It made me aware that society doesn’t really make the patient his or her first priority. I guess in some way they do, but as Beth said, sometimes you just have to let go. But why are we so damn afraid of letting go?
I feel as if in order to make a unit “complete” we should go on a trip as a class, so we can go out into the real world and see what we were taught in action for ourselves. I think a trip to a nursing home would be appropriate for this specific unit. It can be an all day trip, a one to one session with an elderly or sick person. Sometimes drugs are not the only cure for the sick and dying. Its always nice to see a new face, and know that someone is out there that is willing to spend their time helping another. I would also like to read the thoughts of more people about Illness and death in our culture.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)