Assignment; to develop an understanding of what it means to become an elderly person.

Authors Avatar

Assignment; to develop an understanding of what it means

to become an elderly person.

As a person becomes older, certain changes in structure and function of the individual take place. This process is known as ageing. It is this ageing process that causes a person to become elderly, sometimes stopping the individual from doing everything they use to be able to do. To develop a greater understanding of what it means to become elderly, I interviewed an elderly person Frank, finding out his own personal experiences of growing old.

When asked about his background Frank explained how he moved to England from Ireland during the war the war in 1943. His previous work experiences were extremely active working on the runways outdoors and labouring at Manchester ship canal until the docks closed down in 1982 when he had to begin taxi driving. These were all strenuous occupations keeping Frank fit and healthy allowing him to work into his late seventies. He explained the only reason for retirement was old age, which stopped him from feeling safe driving at night or in busy periods, therefore stopping him from being able to drive the taxi. Frank explained how he enjoyed spending his time after retirement, looking after his garden and nearby allotment keeping himself active. He explains how he is not as lively as he was in his earlier years as a hip operation 10 years ago stopped him from being as mobile as he used to be. The operation allowed him to continue a fairly energetic lifestyle but made it difficult to travel long distances on foot. He believes this is one of the disadvantages of being elderly as he feels more house bound, not walking as much as he used to therefore not being able to travel round as easily. Frank bought the nearby allotment after retirement to keep himself occupied but he feels over the last few years he does not have as much energy as he did at the beginning, having to rest often. This is due to the fact that throughout life we lose nerve and body cells that are not replaced. This general degeneration of the body and nervous system causes the ageing process. Muscles shrink and waste away which causes the elderly to lose their strength and agility and become tired more easily (Ageing Today pg3).

Frank still has an active social life, meeting close friends at the pub most nights where he plays cards and talks about daily activities. His social life is not as lively as it used to be though, as he finds himself not keeping in touch with as many people. He now only mixes with his own age group whereas he had friends of various ages in his younger years. He explains how he likes to socialise a lot less as he gets tired more easily. He still enjoys having discussions with those of his own age but does not always understand the younger generation so finds it difficult to with hold conversation with them. Frank’s hip operation has made him feel less flexible and less mobile than he used to be, stopping him from having as active a social life as he used to. When walking to the allotment or to the pub he sometimes uses a walking stick, which helps him to continue his leisure interests.

Join now!

Since retiring, Frank has been able to spend more time with his family. He enjoys entertaining his grandchildren of which he has fourteen. It is often said that older people can relate better to their grandchildren than their children (Helping Older People pg136). This fills much of his spare time and allows him to feel needed, as a responsible adult.        

Sometimes basic skills such as reading and writing are difficult to apply by the elderly. When I asked Frank about this he replied that he read the newspaper every evening but he did not do much writing anymore. This ...

This is a preview of the whole essay