In module 1, you read Roz Chast's graphic memoir. Chast identified multiple issues, concerns, and thoughts about aging. This discussion is open to any of the topics. Here is a list of possible questions to get you started: We discussed "Successful Aging" in Module One. Would you describe the Chast's life in late adulthood before 2001 as including any elements of "successful aging"? The Life Course perspective emphasizes the relationship between how we live in late adulthood and how we lived during earlier stages of our lives. What significant patterns did you see that might help to explain the Chast's relationship, strengths, vulnerabilities and the decisions that they made? You can focus on George, or Elizabeth. How were the elder Chast's quality of life in Brooklyn and the resources available to them shaped by fact that they lived in an urban rather than a rural or suburban community? The author describes conversations with her parents about their plans for long term care early in the book. Have you discussed preferences for long term care and the end of your life care with your family members? Did this book encourage you or discourage you from having those conversations? Why? Toward the end of the book, Roz Chast discusses the high cost of her parents care and her concern that their funds might run out before the end of their lives. Should Medicare fund long term care? Why or why not? The Chast's lived independently , accepting very little assistance from anyone until very late in their lives. until it was just about impossible for them to ;live on their own. What are the advantages and disadvantages of waiting so long? How should families and aging service providers respond to individuals and couples who insist that they do not need help? Do you have any experience with this? Elizabeth Chast wanted George to survive so that they could both live to 100. She was quite ambivalent about hospice care because she saw it as giving up. However, she was very clear that she did not want her life to end by becoming " a hunk of protoplasm". Who should decide when it is time to offer palliative care rather than attempt drastic remedies that may make patients remaining days uncomfortable or risk their lives, especially when patients capacity to make decisions is limited? What strengths did the Chast's have that helped them to cope with the dying process and what do you think that the Hospice program's greatest challenges were in working with them? Did you learn anything in this course that helps you understand the Chast's experience better than you would have before you took the course? Was there anything in the Chast's experience that helped you understand something you read about in the course better? Roz Chast managed to include quite a bit of humor in her parents' story. People who have shopped at "the depressing aisle" or have wondered why assisted living places tend to have names that suggest the "End of the Trail", may question the use of humor about these serious topics. Those who are aged or those who work with older adults often say that it's better to laugh than to cry. Do you think that the humor contributed to your ability to understand and empathize with the characters or detract from it? Feel free to raise questions and issues that you would like to discuss. Once you have posted your primary post, substantively respond to at least two of your classmates' posts. Please respond to these two students Student 1(Stephanie Ortiz) The Chast’s lived independently, accepting very little assistance from anyone until very late in their lives. Until it was just about impossible for them to live on their own. What are the advantages and disadvantages of waiting so long? How should families and aging service providers respond to individuals and couples who insist that they do not need help? Do you have any experience with this? "Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant" is a comic book highlighting people's experiences as they grow older. The book revolves around Roz Chast's parents, who refuse to get help in their old age but eventually, when they can no longer survive on their own, the situation forces Roz Chast to come in but ends up spending a lot of money taking care of them. However, there are advantages and disadvantages of waiting too long as the Chasts did; hence family members and aging service providers should respond appropriately. Waiting for too long before accepting assistance has more disadvantages than advantages. For instance, older adults who wait for too long may be isolating themselves from other people to get peace of mind. There are things that older adults may not want to discuss because it might cause issues like stress which can worsen their situation. For example, Roz Chast wants her parents to meet an elder lawyer to discuss issues like wills, end-of-life directives and estate planning (Chast, 2014). But then she is unsure if her parents will accept it because they need to be strong mentally as the topic revolves around death. When older adults discuss such topics in society, they start feeling that their end is almost living with too much stress. Nevertheless, waiting too long before accepting help has adverse consequences for older adults. For instance, if the health condition of the elderly keeps deteriorating until the last minute when one wants to seek medical attention, they are unlikely to survive. The reason is that some health problems need solutions early enough to avoid moving to complicated stages. Roz Chast states that by October of 2005, her parents were 93 years old and prone to home accidents (Chast, 2014). Consequently, the frequent accidents would have serious consequences with time as their bodies become fragile. In January 2006, Roz Chast's mother saw her mother, who was in pain and had been lying in bed from the day she fell (Chast, 2014). The mother's health was worsening, and if she had accepted to receive attention at the time of the accident, her health would be better. Another disadvantage of staying too long before accepting assistance is that the elderly give their close people the burden of spending more money to nurse their critical condition. Therefore, families and aging service providers must ensure that they counsel the elderly to accept medical care in case of health problems. Furthermore, the families and caregivers should also look for insurance covers for the elderly to avoid spending too much on bills for their medication. I come from a Hispanic community that does not like to seek medical care until it becomes a serious problem due to fear of the unknown. My mother had an uncle who refused to seek medical attention for his hypertension as he believed it wasn’t a problem if he didn’t feel anything wrong. Unfortunately, he passed on after his condition got worse, and doctors could not save his life on time. Therefore, it is common that older people might refuse to get assistance, but their families and care providers should at least look for a way of convincing them to seek medical help and even get the insurance covers for them. Student 2 (Brittany Casale) In the memoir “Can’t we talk about something more PLEASANT?” by Roz Chast, she talks about her elderly parents their lives as older adults, and end of life preparations. The Chasts’ lived in their apartment in the city for their entire marriage, and right up until they were placed in an assisted living facility. Roz Chasts’ parents never wanted to speak about end-of-life preparations. They refused to talk about it, and before Roz consulted an end-of-life lawyer, her parents assumed that giving their child control of their money meant they’d spend it however they chose not how the parents wanted. The Chasts’ lived to be well into their 90’s, and only really required direct care for the last few years of their lives. I would say they absolutely meet aspects of “successful aging” (Chast, 2016). In regard to the Rowe and Kahn model of successful aging they were physiologically successful. Roz’s parents could still get around just fine. They walked to the nearby grocery store, ate at the occasional restaurant, and performed tasks around their apartment – cleaning, changing light fixtures, etc (Novak, 2018). According to a study down by George Vaillant, he found successful aging to be more than just the physical. He included physical things, such as not smoking, little alcohol consumption, and a healthy weight. However, he also included a stable marriage, education, and being able to adapt in regard to coping. The Chasts’ fulfilled many aspects of this proposed “successful aging” (Novak, 2018). They rarely drank, they got exercise, their marriage was more or less stable (even if Mrs. Chast was incredibly overbearing), and they were incredibly educated – both working in the New York City school system (Chast, 2016). I think what came as the biggest shock to me while reading this memoir, was the cost that goes into end-of-life care. My grandmother was put into a nursing home around the same age as the Chasts, she was 90. I had no idea the amount of money it was costing my mother and her siblings to keep her in a “nice” nursing home. Roz had to cover not only the cost of living in an assisted living center, but also any extra staff, food or furniture. This became even more expensive as their health declined and they required around the clock staff and care. I really commend Roz for how hard she tried with her parents, not everyone would be willing to spend those kinds of funds (Chast, 2016). The memoir really got me thinking about my parents, and what they would want and if they have that kind of savings. It also got me thinking about my own end of life requests – I may only be in my 30’s but I think it’s important to start planning now if it’s such a financial burden on your children. My oldest is 14, and as much as I hate to talk about these things with him, I think it’s important to keep the dialogue open. If Roz’s parents had been more open to talking about these things, maybe she and they would’ve been better prepared. I also found it interesting that the Chasts’ wanted to live so long and saw hospice as giving up – yet they didn’t want to be “hunks of protoplasm” (Chast, 2016). I get it to an extent. I agree that I wouldn’t want to be essentially a lump of skin in a chair. I’ve told my husband that if I can’t take care of myself then it really isn’t worth it to me. I’ve mentioned assisted death as well, my son and husband disagree and say they’ll take care of me, but that isn’t what I want or how I want to live out my final days. Such depressing talk I know, but it is going to happen to us all one day. I’d rather not live out my days in hospice with my poor sons worried about money and stressed about when I’ll pass. Overall, I loved this memoir. I suggested the book to my siblings, of which I have two copies because I thought I had lost my first one. It really got me thinking about things most people just don’t want to talk about. However, end of life – while sad – is inevitable, and it’s important to be open to talking about it with your loved ones. So i need 1 Disscusion board post And a response to each of the students seperatley GET THIS OR ORDER A SIMILAR PAPER NOW