HW 32 - Thoughts following illness & dying unit

I never knew i would look so closely at death and illness as i did in this unit. Intellectually analyzing the cause and affects of death and illness and how it plays a part in peoples lives. Experiencing death and illness with my own eyes throughout childhood made me intrigued in learning about it. and noticing the dominant social practices that were left unnoticed. for instance the "ill" being isolated in a home or a hospital.  letting others deal with the "ill", doctors and nurses and the consumption of drugs. we never look exactly at what causes death or illness but more the emotional toll it takes. throughout my life I've only looked at death and illness as an up and coming tragic time in life. something most likely occurs at old age. but that's not the case. throughout the unit i came to realize that death has many counter parts, religion, terminal illness, hereditary illness, emotional impact and the physical.

Looking at the health care system and the culture of our hospitals really put things in perspective for me. this is because your able to see that the poor health of individuals in the United States is due to our culture its self, but  the treatment given. treatment that is Solly based on getting you "more days" of dying than actually being happy and confronting death. putting drugs in your system because they think that's the best way to treat someone who is dying. Sicko and the reading of excerpts helped me see that the main incentive of our health care system is money and not the health of the individuals. we must look at exactly whats the cause of dieing and its affect. we eat unhealthy food not realizing that this can lead to developing a sickness like diabetes. Having a balanced outlook  on things gives you insight on how you want to live your life and end it as well life. Dying happy is better than dying full of sadness and regret.

HW 31 - Comments 3

From Nelson S.( Older): didnt post

From Chris(younger):
This blog was very profound to read. I understand that this topic hits close to home and must be emotional. I thought that you supported your ideas best by connecting to how you felt about someday possibly being ill as well. This really stood out to me and made me think more deeply about the issue and how the thought of death can affect someone as well as those close to them
To Johny: Johny this was a very good post. you attacked and showed relation between what we have studied and the task or project you were taking up. i think your thoughts and what you talk about are relevant. but just like myself. post needs to be looked over and critiqued more than whats thought.the line that Arden shows sticks out to me as well. "This is clearly a violation of everyone being treated the same while being sought medical attention." this is because our system is so called "for the people" but according to our American health care and the way our country is ran shows otherwise.

To Sharif :your motives, your desires, your perseverance and everything that comes with a persons persona must be positive during a tragic time. this clearly shows in your blog. you shouldnt let something eat away at you until it has taken its full supplement. life is hard and death is harder.you show this with the emotional toll you noticed during the interview of your grandmother. I feel your blog can be much stronger if you tackle more aspects of the way a person acts who is dying vs. the way society wants them to. are they similar, different? Is it the illness and that person resentment that's beats them? who usually wins the competition between death and a person?

Regarding Elevator Speeches

To Bryanna:  i felt your project was a great and amazing idea. it shows the way a persons mood and way of going about dieing can either be a negative or a positive. the someone you talked on who meditates and who is more independent with dealing with the disease has lived a better or longer life that that other who didn't. this shows the psychological impact of a tragic experience like death. people all act differently and this shows through experience, even ones that are tragic. strong presentation dont remember any critiquing.but i was truly hoping to read your blog. i was hoping to get more insight of the different processes and ways those individuals went about dying and how they differ. hopeful you post it soon

To Devin: your project by itself and the research you got was phenomenal. your presentation showed the basics of your project and what you wanted to learn.you created analysis through statistical survey on living wills and euthanasia from experts. i think your presentation could have been stronger if you were more confident and mentally prepared. you had a great blog post, great project but your elevator speech wasnt as strong because of the presenting aspects. good job man

HW 30 - Illness & Dying - Culminating Experiential Project

Death is seen as a crisis that occurs later on in life, so theirs no reason to have any though of it now. Because it’s something that typically occurs at a very old age. Most common situations, this is the case. But when it comes to an illness it’s a whole different ball game. A terminal illness can prevent you from continuing a healthy, stress free, "normal" lifestyle and most importantly shorten the time you have. The time you have to live your life. These thoughts have seemed to come up in my mind quite often because all I keep hearing is about one part of the family repeatedly being faced with Cancer. if I were to guess, in the past 6 months, 3 cousins of mine have all gotten sick and this is because of there gene pool which is sad to say. Because of this I became infatuated with exploring how a hereditary terminal Illness can affect an individual mentally as well as physically. I interviewed my cousin who is now dealing with a hereditary disease and myself who has realized that my gene pool has another hereditary disease that needs to be payed attention to.

“omg did you hear, Pe*** got cancer". My mother’s words shocked me as I heard them two weeks ago. He coming down for a weekend was quite a surprise because I haven’t seen him in over 2 years. But for some stranger reason this weekend was a gathering for the family to acknowledge everyone’s situation. So I took advantage of this and decided to ask him a couple questions after we had our casual talk.

1. How was your day?
A: it hasn’t been well. The thought of having to leave everything behind is puzzling me.
2. What are you dealing with? Explain as much as possible.
A: My two sisters were diagnosed with Cancer, one with colon cancer which is what I have and the other I don’t even know. I can’t quite come up with the name right now. A random appearance of a bump that I thought was just an assist was actually a sign of cancer. I didn’t want to check that bump out in the doctor, doctors are just not my thing. But by me not going, im became vulnerable to the cancer that has been passed down by my dead father.
3: how do you feel about the cause of your illness? And the emotional and physical affect it has?
It’s overwhelming to know that I didn’t get this illness from my own actions like being a chain smoker. It has a big affect, what the f*** do you think. Ima leave now and go eat

He rushed towards the gathering that was set and mostly for him. Family feeling pity just like anyone would for someone who is dealing with cancer. My cousin built up defense mechanisms because of his situation. Not saying much, being a man of few words throughout the whole day. Hearing that he has a good chance to battle it like his older sister did was a relief to us but not to him. You could notice the emotional distress felt in his facial expressions, his walk and even in the way he ate. The terminal illness has taken a drastic toll on him emotionally and he must take it upon himself to beat the cancer physically.

After hearing what my cousin had to say I found myself being overwhelmed at the thought that one day I might be in the same predicament as he’s in. not knowing my father as much as another teenager does has allot of faults. We don’t talk at all. But earlier this year I found out that my father might have diabetes. I didn’t care at all about the fact that he has this, which is sad but I cared mostly about the fact that I can be affected. I began to feel a small portion of hate towards him for this, but what can he do. So I took it upon myself to further my knowledge on how to stay healthy swell as shy away from diabetes.

"Hereditary diseases run the gamut from cancer to diabetes, neurological problems to kidney problems. In some cases those diseases can be prevented or held at bay.  Healthy living and diet and exercise programs geared to combat your particular medical possibilities can help prevent hereditary diseases such as high blood pressure, stress and anxiety as well as several hereditary mental illnesses"

Read more: Prevention of Hereditary Diseases | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/way_5188179_prevention-hereditary-diseases.html#ixzz1BMjYvy84

Healthy living which many do not know can prevent diseases as they age. Me knowing this before and now. I will keep up the healthy eating and exercise only for the fact of trying not to catch diabetes as a man but also doing it because it feels good. My cousin put things in perspective for me. Ignorance is bliss. Do and know what you can. Ive come to realize now that if someone has health insurance, thy should use it to there extent. I remember having mother screaming at me for not going to the dentist to make an appointment. But I didn’t care because it was just the dentist. Just the dentist, a typical response and an ignorant one as well. Teeth are important and so is your health. So whatever you can do, do it.

Death comes sooner or later but with hereditary diseases it comes before you know it. My cousin being only 30 has been dealing with the fact of having colon cancer because of his genes. Because of who made him come into this world. people look at death as a dreadful moment of a persons life. the ending. an ending that many fear like my cousin and i. people in general can prevent from getting an illness by doing things like eating healthy and being active.

HW 29 - Reading and noting basic materials

Facing Terminal Illness

Death as many know of it is the conclusion of someone’s life. It’s a conclusion that no matter what or who, theirs no way of shying away from it.  No one truly understands or expects themselves to be close to death or be dealt with a terminal illness. Especially as your young, you feel as if you’re superior to it. We never come to the realizations that were not young forever and as we get older we become more vulnerable to these illness and sickness. A measly cold or ankle injury as a youth may seem like something but as you get older and become vulnerable to a terminal illness. You would wish to be in that state of sickness that you once were in, instead of something that’s fighting with your mind and body.

He did not cry until days later. Still, his fathers death helped prepare Morrie for his own"(pg.139). Morrie in Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. Morrie’s father being faced with a terminal illness prepared him and gave him a glimpse of something that would later happen to him. Having seen a terminal illness with his own eyes, gave him more acknowledgement and preparation for his situation. This was crucial because he worked around the illness, used it to benefit him and others. Most of all it didn’t eat him alive as it does to others. Where as Beth, our guest speaker's husband was faced with a terminal illness, in which she didn’t know how go about it. Basically thinking on her feet at a crucial time. Having to lie to her children, looking to religion and listening to her husband’s positive tongue to provide guidance for her. To become more vibrant to the situation and terminal illness she was dealt with.

Isolation

Society has driven many to isolate themselves as well as others. It’s obvious that when someone’s sick or faced with an illness there brought to a hospital. Isolated to receive treatment to be considered like the rest, healthy and normal. Or you’re left in a nursing home. Both places where you’re barricaded in as if you’re in a prison.  The sick   are isolated from the rest of society because they do not fit the "normal" that many fight to be. In Stigma and Social Identity by Erving Goffman, he speaks about the spoiled identity that people have become to worship. The social isolation that we create through different types of stigmas. Erving Goffman presents to us that the 1st stigma is abominations of the body like physical deformities. Secondly blemishes in an individuals character and lastly tribal stigma of race, nation and religion. If someone doesn’t fit the requirements of being normal we exercise varieties of discrimination. That person being looked at and critique because of their stigma. Than crawled over, madly glared at because their supposedly inferior.

The process of dying

A line that stood out to me in ... And a Time to die by Sharon R. Kaufman states: " When death is near, it is a place of bureaucratic logic without logic purpose, a place where everyone muddles through regulated- yet improvised, routine yet disquieting arrangements of medical algorithms, professional relations, and strategies for getting patients through the system"(pg.26). Sharon Kaufman talks on the culture that hospitals have built which consists of a time line where at the end, the patient dies. A place that consists of logic, giving medicine for the patients needs, surgeries and visits to help and regulate the sick.  Getting patients through the system where there having to treat them with countless strategies of curing and helping the sick. That sometimes isn’t even needed. But it’s done, because that’s what hospitals are known to do, it’s their job. Their job is not to totally care like the average patient might think. Patients rarely have informed sense of what is actually best for them, so they go with whatever sounds best.

HW 28- Comments

For Arden-

Arden I really could feel myself visiting your grandmother from the car ride seeing her to saying bye. I like how you elaborated on what was said before visiting your grandmother and why she actually visiting her. It relates to the common social practices around dealing with death and illness. Assistant having to be with your grandmother for comfort in a place that she doesn’t want to be. This reminds me of my grandmother because she also dreaded the fact of being in a nursing home but providing her with nursing aid made situation better or more comforting. People shy away from the cruel reality of hospitals and death and things of that sort to make the situation less painful. But why blame them.

For Johny-

I liked the fact that you instantly made a connection to our group book Tuesdays with Morrie because it was a significant one. Your approach that possessed pity is a common social practice of many and you pointed this out in a good way. It seems all of us follow these social practices because it’s the best thing to do to make that other person feel highly of themselves. To make them feel stress free because they already have a mental load that is incomparable to those around them.

I feel you started with a great structure to your post but than the elaboration of the moment took a downward toll on it. Summing up your ideas and thoughts is something that every blog should end with (with its own paragraph). I think so at least. Solid post, good job

From Nelson( Friend in college)-
Your writing is very well organized and it stays on point. It also focuses on the main idea of your whole blog and doesn't seem to lose track or wander off the topic of your writing. Some useful tips you can take into your writing can be to also put some of the ideas in the conversation that you brought up to her attention as you did with her ideas. Try not to use so many comma's because those are punctuation marks that separate different items or quantities. The beauty of your writing is wonderful it kept me entertained and kept me inclined into what she was talking about and how she was comparing the new age to when she was growing up. I also liked that you had suspected the lady to be rude and annoying because of the fact she was old but she turned out to be a wonderful lady and that caught my attention and caused me to read more. Your writing is good all i can say is keep up the good work.

Chris(9th grader)-Coming soon

HW 27 - Visiting an unwell person

Whenever I step foot on a bus, which is something I rarely do, the front is always reserved for those who are old, unwell or sick. So I figured my way of visiting an unwell person for this assignment would be interacting with a complete stranger who I thought was unwell on a bus. I waited at the crowded bus stop on 14th Union Square for the 14D bus. While waiting for the bus I saw people rushing and cramming themselves into a specific little spot where they thought the bus would stop. But there was one specific person who caught my attention who didn’t waste their time doing what others were doing; she stood there patiently for the bus to arrive. She was a woman who looked as if she was in her late 60's, she had a cane and to me and everyone else she seemed unwell. I positioned myself next to her and started a conversation about how people are too eager to step foot on the bus. Her voice was raspy and she was delighted to have a conversation, I could tell. As the bus arrived some quickly got into the bus, whereas most people and I let this old lady on the bus first.

As I got on the bus and sat myself besides this old lady I talk about, the first subject of our conversation was about our neighborhood. On how the village is so peaceful and creative. She loved to talk and I enjoyed listening because she was a kind and positive individual with allot to say. After 3 stops the conversation got into the comparison between the youth and the old. “As I got older, I got wiser, fewer things worried me". These words I remember exactly from our conversation because she treasured her old age and the life she lived. She did say it was a struggle sometimes to walk around with a cane and not be that healthy physically as she once use to be but it happens she said. she coughed. she didnt have a regular cough but a raspy one, which indicated she was unwell. but i was still so surprised to hear such positive and engaging thoughts come out of her because I usually expect old people on the bus to be rude. Making someone get up out their seat because they better privileges than everyone else and try to take advantage of it. 

This old lady that I talk of is unlike what I expected.  She wasn’t grumpy, didn’t have some sort of slouchy or tired physicality to herself. But she actually wanted to give her seat to a little kid that was begging to be seated. She definitely needed the seat more than him, so I got myself up to give the seat to the little ignorant kid whose parent wasn’t doing a good job. She was vulnerable to being nice, something that many senior citizens do. The enjoyment of having a conversation showed in her tone, it seemed she hadn’t had an interaction with a complete stranger that was intrigued by what she had to say. To me I could see others on a regular day basis walking by the lady, never say nothing, giving her the stink eye for having that seat on a crowded bus. That isn’t right to do but is a very common practice or approach to the unwell. This was a lesson learned. Never look down on someone whose position you might be in one day.

All the insights I gained from sources studied in class like Beth's visit, Tuesdays with Morrie, countless class discussions and Sicko. I noticed an old lady who loved her life, didn’t look down on herself and dealt with the situation she was in. just as Morrie had in Tuesday with Morrie. Which was the reason why many look to him for advice and guidance. she was unwell, I didn’t ask her exactly how, but I drew my own conclusions. She seemed to learn from her years on this earth. And like she said as she got older she got wiser, it’s safe to say that she was prepared or had prepared herself for old age and death. Just as Beth made sure she could cope with the situation as she was dealing with it. overall was a great time, with someone who was unwell.