Case Analysis Theory of Aging Mr. Ronald Dea, 64 years old, had been planning for many years to retire from his position
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2022 8:55 am
Case Analysis
Theory of Aging
Mr. Ronald Dea, 64 years old, had been planning for many years
to retire from his position as an
accountant at a software company at his 65th birthday. Then his
wife of 40 years died of lymphoma last
year. He now finds that he only gets out of his house to work. He
has let his racquetball membership,
swimming club, and night out with his neighborhood friends slide.
He finds he does not go out socially at
all anymore except for visiting his two children and their
families, who live out of town, when invited. He
is no longer active in the Lions Club nor does he regularly attend
his church where he and his wife used
to be very involved.
Now he is deliberating whether to retire or not because he is aware
that his work has become the only
thing in his life. He is finding he does not have the energy he
used to and that he is not excited about the
weekend time he used to enjoy so much. He also has found he does
not enjoy food shopping, so Mr.
Dea generally buys his main meal at work and then snacks on
crackers and cheese at night. He generally
eats a donut or a bagel for breakfast. On the weekends, Mr. Dea
stays in bed until noon and does not
eat anything until night when he goes to the nearby fast food
drive-in window to pick up fried chicken or
has a pizza delivered.
He has not changed anything in his bedroom since his wife died nor
removed any of his wife’s
belongings from the home. Mr. Dea has been delaying his regularly
scheduled visits to his hematologist
for management of his hemochromatosis. He has been gaining weight,
approximately 14 pounds, since
his wife was first diagnosed with cancer about 2.5 years ago. He
has also started smoking a cigar just
about every evening. It was after his nightly smoke, when he was
walking up the hill in his backyard one
evening, that he fell and fractured his hip.
Mr. Dea has just been discharged home from the rehabilitation
center, and you are the visiting nurse
assigned to him. He has planned judiciously for his retirement but
has been afraid to prepare the
paperwork. Mr. Dea confides in you that he wants to remain
independent as long as possible. He shares
his concerns with you and inquires what your opinion is of how he
should proceed. One of his daughters
is at his home for the next 2 weeks to assist him and is pushing
him to retire and move in with her and
her family.
Drawing from aging theory, what are some of the challenges you
believe Mr. Dea is dealing with? What
would you, given the knowledge you have learned regarding aging
theories, recommend to Mr. Dea
regarding retirement? Would you recommend he sell his house and
move out of the town he has lived
in for so many years? What other living arrangements might be
conducive for Mr. Dea? Who would you
suggest he and his daughter talk with regarding his everyday needs
if he chooses to stay in his house
during his convalescence? What are his priority needs for promoting
his health? How would these be
best managed? Use aging theory to support your responses.
Theory of Aging
Mr. Ronald Dea, 64 years old, had been planning for many years
to retire from his position as an
accountant at a software company at his 65th birthday. Then his
wife of 40 years died of lymphoma last
year. He now finds that he only gets out of his house to work. He
has let his racquetball membership,
swimming club, and night out with his neighborhood friends slide.
He finds he does not go out socially at
all anymore except for visiting his two children and their
families, who live out of town, when invited. He
is no longer active in the Lions Club nor does he regularly attend
his church where he and his wife used
to be very involved.
Now he is deliberating whether to retire or not because he is aware
that his work has become the only
thing in his life. He is finding he does not have the energy he
used to and that he is not excited about the
weekend time he used to enjoy so much. He also has found he does
not enjoy food shopping, so Mr.
Dea generally buys his main meal at work and then snacks on
crackers and cheese at night. He generally
eats a donut or a bagel for breakfast. On the weekends, Mr. Dea
stays in bed until noon and does not
eat anything until night when he goes to the nearby fast food
drive-in window to pick up fried chicken or
has a pizza delivered.
He has not changed anything in his bedroom since his wife died nor
removed any of his wife’s
belongings from the home. Mr. Dea has been delaying his regularly
scheduled visits to his hematologist
for management of his hemochromatosis. He has been gaining weight,
approximately 14 pounds, since
his wife was first diagnosed with cancer about 2.5 years ago. He
has also started smoking a cigar just
about every evening. It was after his nightly smoke, when he was
walking up the hill in his backyard one
evening, that he fell and fractured his hip.
Mr. Dea has just been discharged home from the rehabilitation
center, and you are the visiting nurse
assigned to him. He has planned judiciously for his retirement but
has been afraid to prepare the
paperwork. Mr. Dea confides in you that he wants to remain
independent as long as possible. He shares
his concerns with you and inquires what your opinion is of how he
should proceed. One of his daughters
is at his home for the next 2 weeks to assist him and is pushing
him to retire and move in with her and
her family.
Drawing from aging theory, what are some of the challenges you
believe Mr. Dea is dealing with? What
would you, given the knowledge you have learned regarding aging
theories, recommend to Mr. Dea
regarding retirement? Would you recommend he sell his house and
move out of the town he has lived
in for so many years? What other living arrangements might be
conducive for Mr. Dea? Who would you
suggest he and his daughter talk with regarding his everyday needs
if he chooses to stay in his house
during his convalescence? What are his priority needs for promoting
his health? How would these be
best managed? Use aging theory to support your responses.