Tentative interview dates a. 9/21 b. 9/15

Planned interview method: Face to face

Older adult’s permission to include photos/video? Yes

One of my favorite parts of the conversation was hearing the joy in your voice as you talked about your childhood and our family. Your memories of peeking into the kitchen to see baby Jan, and playing jump rope with your dad gave me just a small peek into the wonderful life you lived. I loved listening to the story of how you met Boppy, it made me feel so much closer to him even though he is no longer here. I cant help but think how proud he would be of our family, and how we have grown.

You had so many meaningful memories, but what surprised me most was how deeply you feel everything. I was so young when we lost Boppy, that you did such a great job hiding it and coping with it for the sake of all of us, and it was hard to hear how much you struggled. The love you still have for him, as well as the love for you children and grandchildren shows how strong you are. You truly are a blessing to our entire family, and I admire everything about you.

I gained so much from talking to you, not just about your life but also that I want to age to be just like you. You have so much love and you always know how to make me laugh. You reminded me that live isn't about money or fancy things, its about family, and being grateful for everyday with what you have, even if its not much. Having this conversation with you made me realize that no matter how much older you get, or how hard life gets you can still choose happiness and gratitude.

We are so lucky to have you as the leader of our family and ill cherish the time I get to spend with you forever. I love you so much, and thank you again for meeting with me.

Love,

Payton

To make sure she was comfortable sharing, I tried my best to use therapeutic communication skills with each question asked. I sat close to her and made sure I did not use any offensive words, and ensured she didn't think I thought of her as just "old". Due to her Parkinson's she has trouble remebering details, dates, or losing her train of thought so I made sure to give her plenty of time to think through an answer, and reassured her when she couldnt come up with what she wanted to say. While interviewing I also used open ended questions to allow her freedom in her answers, most of the time this led us into a conversation rather then a yes or no answer really strenghtening the topics of the conversation. I chose to use all of these strategies because I believe they were the most successful and respectful way to provide a space for her to communicate with me. It worked perfectly as it was not an up tight interview, it was a casual conversation where she was able to laugh and think about memories she hasn't for years.

This experience connects to many of the readings we do in class. The class topic that I found myself wondering about was depression in later life. The State of Mental Health and Aging in America states that "Risk factors for late-onset depression include widowhood, physical illness"(CDC, n.d.). This made me think because my grandmother suffers from both of these risk factors, and I never thought she was suffering from depression. Hearing her talk about my Boppy (grandpa), helped me understand the impact of greif and how it never truly goes away. She also told me she continues to take "happy pills" and how hard it was when he passed away. This brought into perspective how long she has probably been suffering from these symptoms. The connection between the readings and class have helped me gain a new appreciation for the importance of mental health in adults, because there are probably many of them suffering that we don't know about.

In addition to depression in later life, I also connected my grandmothers story to using life story work to enhance care. Thompson (2011) explained that when caregivers truly understand the patient that they are working with and what their values are it can improve their relationships and communication leading to better care. During the interview with my grandma I saw how meaningful this can be. She opened up more and more with each story, and I believe this could be beneficial to her care, because the more she feels like she can share, she more she will be honest with the providers. There are moments in time where my grandmother will stretch the truth with how well she is doing, and I think having a more trusting relationship would allow her to fully lean into her care.

When I began this class, the 5 words I used to describe her were sweet, storytelling, slow moving, wise, and experienced. After completing my interview I believe that each of these words still are true, they just have a deeper meaning then before. The word "sweet" reminds me how kind she is to each and every person. "Storytelling" is an example of the joy she gets when explaining the past. "Slow Moving" is not a bad thing, but it reminds me to enjoy the little moments in life because you never know when it is going to change. "Wise" and "Experienced" reminded me of how much she has truly lived through and how much she has to teach me.

This assignment will without a doubt influence my job as a future nurse. I used many skills like, active listening, empathy, patience, which are all good for future practice. Not only did I get to practice my own skills, but I also got to hear everything from the patients point of view. I can understand that every patient is different and just taking the time to get to know them and who they are can make a world of difference in the type of care I provide. This experienced has taught me not just to treat the diagnoses, but to slow down and treat each patient.

Thompson, R. (2011). Using life story work to enhance care. Nursing Older People, 23(8), 16–21.