Category: Grandmother

My grandma was born in the year of 1937. When I went to research what generation that year belongs to, I found the term “The Silent Generation”. I have not heard of this before. “This relatively small generation found itself sandwiched between the war hero G.I.s and the large and influential Baby Boomer generation,..” (Sanburn, J, 2019). The Silent Generation belongs to individuals born between 1925 and 1942, “who were children during World War II but too young to fight.” (Sanburn, J, 2015). The term first made its appearance in 1951. The author of the article, Josh Sanburn, goes on to explain that the people born in those years haven’t been known to make much political noise such as making posters or making speeches. He asks in the article, “What does the silence mean?”. I asked my grandmother and she responded that she does not know and that she was not aware of this term.

When my grandmother and I were on the topic of her health, I asked her how she thought she was doing at this point in her life. She does not like how she is aging but says that she knows that she could have it much worse. I would categorize her response as “fair”, which is 23.7% of how older adults who are 75 and older feel (Morrow, D, Clientele 2, November 13, 2019).

I have noticed changes in her Integumentary system, which is a system that consists of the nails, glands, hair, and nails (Bourhenne, C. (2007). Her hair is thinning, becoming more white than gray and the age spots that are on her arms and hands are becoming a little darker. She has expressed to me before that the thinning of her hair makes her feel ugly. She tends to cough after laughing, which leads me to believe that her Respiratory system, the primary organ is the lungs, (Bourhenne, C. (2007) been affected by smoking cigarettes most of her life.

My grandmother has no comment on ageism, as she believes that she has always been treated with respect. Both she and I believe that since she lives in the country in Ontario, she has fewer interactions with strangers and the public, therefore she has not had as many interactions as she would if she lived in Montreal. She says if she lived in Montreal, her experience with ageism would probably be different, as in there would be more rude people being impatient with her and her slow mobility.

2. My grandmother has arthritis in her hands, which is “wearing down or degeneration of cartilage” (Morrow, D, Clientele 2, November 3, 2019). She also has psoriasis, which is very common in my family as my mother and uncle both have it. Psoriasis is a “common skin condition that speeds up the life cycle of skin cells. It causes cells to build up rapidly on the surface of the skin. The extra skin cells form scales and red patches that are itchy and sometimes painful.” (“Psoriasis”, 2019) She has psoriasis on her legs, feet, and as of recently, on the palms of her hands. This bothers her as she uses her hands a lot whilst crocheting. It is itchy and it can burn. My grandfather also has psoriasis but it is a lot worse. He often scratches his arms until they bleed and he leaves the skin around the house which angers my grandmother. My grandfather has also had shingles, which caused him a great deal of pain. My grandmother mentioned this and said she is lucky to have not gotten it, as she says it is very painful to have as an older adult.

My grandmother has had surgery for her cataracts and she is borderline diabetic. She takes medication for it and has to prick her finger every so often. She does not seem to know much about diabetes in general, as my boyfriend had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes a year ago and she thinks that they both have the same thing.

My grandmother has been showing signs of depression, which is a mental illness that affects 5-10% of older adults (Morrow, D, Clientele 2, November 10, 2019). The signs are very low energy, negative emotions about humans in general, and talking down about herself (saying she is useless, for example.) My mother went to a doctor with my grandmother and the doctor prescribed the medication that she said would “help with leg pain”, but she lied. My mother told me that the doctor secretly prescribed my grandmother anti-depressants. I do not know how to feel about this, as I don’t think it’s necessarily right to give somebody a very life/mood-altering medication without their consent. I have asked my grandmother how she has been feeling since it usually takes one month for antidepressants to start working. She says she feels drowsy.

My grandmother has been showing personality changes and while my mother and uncle believe it is depression, I told them to be careful about Alzheimer’s. Three symptoms are changes in mood or behavior, loss of initiative, and personality changes (Morrow, D, Clientele 2, November 20, 2019). She used to always be a positive person and saw people in a good light, now she is pessimistic and makes comments out loud about strangers. For example, I was in the car with her and we were waiting for the rest of the family to exit a restaurant. We could see my uncle’s wife in the window. My grandmother said, “Jesus, look at her. Why is she dressing like she’s in her twenties?” and scoffed. She would never say something like this ten years ago. Or, somebody with an afro may walk by in public and she will say, “Wish they’d shave that thing off.” Luckily, the person did not hear her say this but she said it with enough volume that other people could have heard. I let my mother and uncle know about my concerns and they both agree that this is something we need to look out for.

Her autonomy is low and this makes her feel useless, a word that I’ve mentioned previously. Older adults want control over the “making and implementation of every day” (Morrow, D, Clientele 2, October 29, 2019). She does not have much independence because she cannot walk too much without feeling pain. My uncle has moved their large freezer from the basement to the main floor so it is easier for both my grandparents to get food, and my mother has made many meals to put in the freezer so they do not have to cook. My grandmother used to be able to cook but cannot now since she would have to stand. She relies on my grandfather to drive, (she never drove in the relationship). My grandmother is experiencing a loss of social dependence, as she does not want to call her friends anymore. This is another sign of her personality change that I noticed and told my mother about. She says that all her friends do is complain, as they are older adults as well and have multiple medical problems and upcoming surgeries. She says they are boring and are finding faults in their personalities that she never mentioned in the past. She feels impatient when listening to them talk on the phone.

There are psychological factors that cause dependence, such as pain (mental and physical), fear and anxiety, and personality factors (Morrow, D, Clientele 2, October 29, 2019). The consequences of losing autonomy have negative effects on self-concept and perceived well-being and esteem, (Morrow, D, Clientele 2, October 29, 2019) and I can see these changes in self-perception in her.

She does not have much physical independence and does not do the light exercises that her doctor told her to do. This is not good, she needs to do these exercises because it helps her immune function and bone density. (Sollitto, M. (2012) She uses a walker and a cane.

My grandmother still lives at home with my grandfather. The house has a basement and two years ago, they installed a chair that they can sit on and it will bring them up and down the floors. They have a booster seat for their toilet with handles on the sides so it is easier for them to sit and get up. They have a stool in their shower. However, the health of my grandfather is declining very fast and my uncle is prepared for this. He has set up a room in his house for my grandma to live in once my grandfather passes, but he is keeping it a surprise for her. I think that he should tell her in advance, to help with any worries she might have about her future. My grandmother has always said that she will not rely on her children when she is in very old age, but my uncle wants to do this. She said, “I didn’t have children just to depend on them.” I would not say that she is aging abnormally, however, I do find that my grandfather’s health is rapidly declining, and it hurts me to see him so weak.

3. If I had to link my grandmother to any myths regarding older adults, it would be two. I will be referring to the myths stated in the class notes, “Ageing: Myths & Reality Notes”. The first myth is, “Unable to learn or change.” When I tell her about topics I’ve learned about, she says, “You believe everything you read on the internet”, even if the topic has been on the news. I have told her that declawing a cat is harmful to the cat, and she said she doesn’t believe me because her cat has not shown signs of pain. We watched a documentary on TV about suicide, and she angrily said that she does not understand why suicidal people would seek out other depressed people because it’s counterproductive. When I tried to tell her that these people are trying to find others to relate with and feel less alone, she blew it off. She thinks that mental health news and updates are all exaggerations. I have noticed that she is not willing to learn about anything that she thinks she knows already.

The second myth I could relate to her is “Older people are lonely and withdrawn”. As mentioned previously, she does not want to talk to her friends anymore and she cuts phone calls short.

One myth that I can say that does not relate to my grandmother is, “All old people are the same”. My grandmother has always had dirty humor, and my boyfriend has told me that he has not met any older adult like her. I find that people often say that grandmothers are emotional and warm, but I have seen her cry maybe a handful of times in my whole life.

Another myth that she does not relate to is “Older people don’t contribute to society”. My grandmother likes to make blankets and send them to extended family members and will send some away to the less fortunate. She also makes donations all the time to SPCA.

4. As an SCC, I can advocate for my community to be more senior-friendly. An example of this would be to seek out areas that older adults may frequently visit, such as restaurants or malls, and make sure that the buildings are properly accommodated for those with mobility issues such as wheelchair users, cane users, etc. I mention the buildings first because, “Creating a positive environment begins with the very structure of our buildings” (Morrow, D, Clientele 2, October 9, 2019). If I were to work in a senior’s residence, I would encourage older adults to take small walks with me and let them speak about whatever they want, so they are not focused on the idea that it is exercise. I would observe every individual older adult, what their limitations are and what tasks they struggle with. If they are struggling with picking up their utensils, I can get easy-to-grip utensils (Morrow, D, Clientele 2, November 6, 2019). I can make assessments and small goals for the older adults to help them gain independence and autonomy, such as making paintings that they can be proud of or letting them play on a piano. These activities help fire up their brains and will let them be creative. Ultimately, I would aim for the most respite care possible, because I do not want any older adult to feel hopeless or start to develop depression. “The combination of respite services and psychoeducational intervention is one of the most effective options for helping carers” (Cerrato, I. M. 2008). The biggest topic that has stayed with me throughout this course, is learning that depression is not just something that comes with age. I honestly thought that being old would naturally be depressing, but I was far from being right. It is important for everybody to remember that we will inevitably be older adults one day.

What is loss? Mostly, it is a loss that teaches us about the worthiness of the jewels we had, the valuables we did not cherish enough, and the star that left us to fly high to the moon. Loss comes in many shapes and forms, for some, it is losing your rubber, losing your phone, or maybe even losing your house keys. To me, this dreadful bereaving, mourning loss is the loss of my loved one. Losing a loved one is like an ice cream snatched off a kid, it is like a rug swept up from underneath you. Death is sudden and unexpected. We only recognize it merely after it has placed our hands on someone we love and respect. Death is serious, people do not realize this till they experience the loss of a loved one. Death makes you question the meaning of life, it made me question my faith and deeper questions that cannot be answered but only believed. This loss was like no other, she was my best friend. We had a unique relationship that was noticeable. She could be difficult with her ways, we had our differences due to generation differences and understanding, but she was the glue to our family. She was the most loving, caring, giving, and delightful person you could ever meet. She was the most accepting, insightful, and adoring person anyone would ever ask for. It is entirely true what they say, you can never understand what losing a loved one is really like until you experience it.

When I was younger, visiting my grandma’s house was the pinnacle of my week, I would look forward to when my family and I would go visit my grandma’s house. I would enthusiastically get dressed in my best clothes and get ready for our journey. Although my grandma lived 300km away, the journey felt very short. We used to visit her weekly. Her house was extremely fun. Not only I, but all my relatives also gathered on the festive holy Friday at my grandma’s house. When we all gathered, we would have fun, eat, and chill, the adults would conversate and the kids would play. She was the pillar of our families; she was the reason we all gathered and united. Without her, those gatherings would not be possible. My grandma was a loving, caring, affectionate, and gifting character. She was a role model to me and all my cousins. If feeling down, you were shortly exuberant due to her kind compassionate words. Her soft mellifluous voice would bring joy to any ear and abolish all the anxiety concerning you. Sitting with her you were made to feel like a king, her positive energy was immaculate, her sense of humor was uplifting, and her face was like a scintillating star. Leaving my grandma’s house on Friday night resulted in sweat falling from my eyes throughout the very long journey back home.

It was a festive optimistic start to the day, my mum’s birthday. The sun was smiling and shining while I was waking up in anticipation of wishing my mum a happy birthday. Going to school that day, I was reinvigorated and full of energy, almost like the day was a bit too good. The bell for lunchtime rang and I made my way back home for lunch. As I entered my street, a resonant, plangent shriek echoed throughout the street. The sky was pouring tears and thunder was rumbling. As I took the approaching steps towards my house, the crying was louder and clearer. As my brother opened the door, he confronted me in a deeply relaxed manner informing me my grandma had passed away. I collapsed down, bursting with tears and struggling to breathe. Tears were flowing like a fountain. Loud wailing commenced when the call of death was received from the doctor. I was crying in disbelief that my hero and role model had passed away, almost like I was in a dream pinching my wrist. The building has collapsed as the pillar holding it has broken and deceased. The only person who was exceedingly more heartbroken than me was my mother. The mother of my mother has passed away. Losing a mother is like a sky falling for my mum, as I said this experience cannot be explained till experienced. The positive ambiance of my house decreased massively. This was because a big part of our motivation, drive, and happiness had been snatched away from us, and we knew we couldn’t do anything about it. That was the painful element.

This loss was soon to come, but it came too soon. This loss was a learning stage, it has taught me lots, every second wasted is lost and cannot be bought back nor worked for, enjoy every second with your loved ones, as in a literal glimpse of a second God can steal our gems and loved ones to put them in a place of their highness which they muchly deserve. A place that can only be granted to amazing souls like my grandma. A lesson that I have yet to comprehend is that ‘life moves on’. In a way or another, this is the matter for most losses, though, for me, life will never be the same. I will never be able to have the lovely moments that I had with my grandma, nor to relive them. I can only reminisce on the sweet nostalgias. However, reminiscing on those good days has me losing sleep. I will never forget this loss as it has left a huge scar that is uncurable and will never be redeveloped. Although mourning is still a matter for me, I know my grandma wants me to move on and be happy as life is too short to live in devastation, we should cherish every day and thank God for his blessings. I started rethinking my decisions and whether I spent every second wisely with my loved one. A new life must be adapted to, this is largely overwhelming as there are now no grandma’s Fridays, no fun, no gatherings, and the most bereaving thing is there is no grandma. I will forever still say that I know I am not alone, my grandma is still with me when it gets cold, and I feel her spirit.

My grandma was brought into the world in a teepee tent in 1925. She had a twin sister that kicked the bucket in her youth because of entanglements upon entering the world. My grandma was the oldest of sixteen kids. Life was hard growing up. As the oldest kin it was her obligation to assist with dealing with her more youthful kin.

She was brought into the world on the island of Old Post Rae, a northwestern region, where wild blossoms, rhubarb and onions developed. Her dad was a catcher. He went toward the Northwest Regions as far as possible from France with his three siblings. My grandma actually reviews the times her dad would be away for a really long time on catching endeavors and how she would stress over him until his return. He would return with pelts for exchange. My grandma would assist her dad with really looking at the snares and would help by cleaning muskrats, hares and duck. Her family essentially lived off the land for the majority of her life as a youngster with minimal external wellsprings of food.

Clearly, my grandma grew up without a cooler, rather they kept their food cold by placing it in a cellar in the ground. Her mom lived until she was 105 years of age. I assisted her with carrying her teacup to her lips since she was so weak and delicate in her advanced age. We called her Gookum. Certain individuals say that she was a medication lady since she knew how to mend illnesses by utilizing different plants.

My grandma was around five years of age when the teachers came. They carried her to a private school, where she would burn through a large portion of the year just to return home for the late spring. She said she doesn’t recollect a great deal however she reviews that the nuns would take care of the youngsters spoiled fish and trim their hair short. To summarize, her experience of private school she said that the nuns were coldblooded however didn’t treat her with as much noxiousness as a portion of different kids. She was in the private school for a long time. At the point, when she returned home in her fourth year, she let her dad know that they were unkind to her and that she would have rather not returned, so when it came time for her to return her dad defended her and said: “She’s not going, she really wants to remain here and help her mom”. Assuming there is one thing she learned in private school it was the manner by which to handwrite her name and right up ’til now when she signs an authoritative record she generally takes as much time as is needed marking her complete name flawlessly.

Anybody that realizes my grandma realizes that she has a magnificent ability – sewing. There’s really nothing that she can’t sew. Now that she is more established, she can’t sew also in light of the fact that her eyes don’t have a similar accuracy as when she more youthful and her hands are filled with joint pain. At the point when she sewed however, she would sew for individuals locally and by contract that was the manner by which she made her living. She was particularly great at beading, flawless as a matter of fact. She made beaded moccasins, satchels, gloves, shoes and so on and she could string a dab on it. She could sew a parka in several days. She showed a customary sewing class once seven days locally. Everybody needed her beadwork. Once specifically she was decided to make a beaded band for the Pope. That was an extremely extraordinary task for her as she is a catholic lady which distraught her vibe exceptionally respected. However, despite the fact that she was awesome at what she did, she was exceptionally unobtrusive. She would get a kick out of a decent commendation, stealthily.

My grandma has managed numerous misfortunes in the course of her life. Her most memorable love was an illustrious Canadian mounted Cop. Together they had three kids. He consistently went from his base at Post Rae to Old Stronghold Rae across the Incomparable Slave Lake. Old Stronghold Rae is around one hour by speed boat from straight to the point’s channel. The waters of the Incomparable Slave between those two focuses can once in a while be exceptionally unpleasant and many individuals have had their boats upset. Sadly, her most memorable love suffocated in a tempest returning from Old Post Rae.

My grandma didn’t need to bring up her three youngsters for extremely lengthy without anyone else. Her mom assisted her with the two more seasoned young men until one day, a boat brimming with laborers came to shore and one of the men on the boat was my granddad. They proceeded to have three additional youngsters; two young ladies and a kid.

Sadly, my grandma lost her three young men. Her most seasoned child passed on the way to my dedicating, driving from Stronghold Rae to Yellowknife, he was tracked down out and about in his vehicle, suffocated. Her center child was killed by his better half while they were impaired, and her most youthful child disappeared. There is plausible motivation to accept that her most youthful child is perished however the police have not tracked down his body at this point, and he has been absent beginning around 1983. My grandmother doesn’t discuss these awful occasions as the recollections are excessively difficult for her. I needed to do some diving in the family wardrobe to find out. At last, I sorted the data out through sprays of data throughout the long term.

Ultimately, the family moved to Yellowknife, NW, where my grandma accepted a position at the noteworthy Wild Feline Bistro where she was paid a dollar daily to wash dishes. She recounts to us this story to act as an illustration of how various things were back then and how one dollar was viewed as large chunk of change in those days.

During that time both of my grandparents experienced liquor abuse. I think it was their approach to managing the misery of losing three of their youngsters. One night my grandma had a fantasy. She envisioned that her most seasoned child came to her and requested that she quit drinking. The following day she put down the jug and has not contacted a drop since. My granddad followed her right away subsequently. They had valid justifications for stopping; my sister and I really wanted them to really focus on us on the grounds that our mom likewise experienced liquor abuse which brought about us wound up in encourage homes for a great deal of our young life. Our grandparents expected guardianship of my sister and I which saved us from becoming mixed up in the framework.

Growing up with my grandma as the essential guardian deserved note since she was not your run of the mill grandmother. My grandma was a bull. She was no nonsense. Whenever we caused problems, we would get the wooden spoon or we would get pursued a few doors down in our apartment complex with the brush. In the most ideal circumstances, she would make us ‘hotcakes’ with additional syrup and cut our caribou meat for us. She never caused us to take care of errands and consistently ensured that we had clean garments to wear. Growing up we had very little cash. My grandmother got by with the cash that she produced using sewing. We had shoddy beds on the floor and the whole family packed into a little one room loft. We utilized milk cases as dressers and had Salvation Armed Force Christmases. However, despite the fact that, we didn’t have a lot, she would continuously give us cash for lunch regular and ensure that we got to do things, that different children of our age we’re doing, so we didn’t understand left. Two or a long time back my grandmother had a terrible fall beyond the bank downtown. Before her fall, my grandma was on the powerful side however not long after her fall she started getting in shape, quickly. She grumbled of deadness in her legs and experienced issues strolling. Nobody knew what was the issue with her we didn’t draw an obvious conclusion immediately that perhaps it very well may be something to do with her fall. She was in a great deal of torment and no measure of pain relievers would help her. We at last took her to a trained professional and understood that she had slipped a plate in her spine from when she fell almost two years prior. The best way to fix her slipped plate was for her to undergo surgery and have back a medical procedure. My grandmother was unnerved; she would have rather not made it happen. We begged her that she won’t beat that on the off chance that she didn’t. She was so frightened however she did it, at eighty years of age she had gone through significant back a medical procedure and it was a triumph. She felt such a great deal better subsequently and gradually beginning recovering the weight that she had lost and was as of now not in torment.

Nowadays my grandmother is dealt with by her most youthful little girl. She has lost in excess of half of her hearing, she has waterfalls in both of her eyes, she no longer sews in light of her joint pain yet she generally has a grin all over. She lets us know accounts of the times of her life and says that she is as yet youthful and kids about her numerous beaus. She actually wears her dazzling red lipstick and dabs it on her cheeks for become flushed. My grandma is my solidarity, my insight, my holy messenger and my mom. Without her direction all through my life I would be a long way from the individual I am today, I respect her understanding, genuineness, boldness and every last bit of her numerous other great characteristics. My most prominent achievement in life is say that I have acquired an ounce of her thoughtfulness and empathy and envelop similar qualities as she does. I’m pleased to be her granddaughter.