Personal Narrative: The Valley Grande Aging

The elderlies are people who have enough problems and things to worry about in their life’s and would not like to have more, putting up with us volunteers. The Valley Grande Manor is at 1212 South Bridge Avenue Weslaco, TX it is a place for elderly who have no family or anybody else to take care of them. I started to volunteer there for my class English 1302, as a project for my future, to gather data on how these nurses take care of them. When I first applied to volunteer they were so many elderly it remind me of many horror movies because it was wheelchairs, needles, and a big empty old cafeteria that was clean, but not remodeled. It was not comfortable until I talked to this man sitting alone before entering the main building of the nursing

It was just moving things around and helping them I was surprised how quiet it was because my grandparents are very loud when they talk to my aunts and uncles. However, when I took out my phone to check time this elderly woman ask me if she could see it and I helped her hold it and she said it was heavy. According to Aaron Smith, an associate director in Internet and technology said, “Today, 59% of seniors report they go online-six- percentage point increase in the course of a year” (par.4). There is a chart and 77% of 65+ years old use cell phones. It got me thinking if many elderly are expose to cell phones how come the woman that ask me to feel my phone said was heavy. Either she is not exposed to technology as much just a T.V. When I looked around I did not see much technology things for them to use like laptops or IPads. Nora, my instructor, told me that many seniors have physical conditions and health issues. “Around two in five seniors… have disability, handicap, or chronic disease that prevents them from fully participating in many common daily activities” (Smith, par.

“To work with the elderly, one must have compassion and patience” (Warta, par.5). This is something we all should know because elderly do not have enough strength to keep themselves moving alone all the time. They move slower and to work with them you need plenty of patience if not that is not the best place for you to work. When I first arrived before even beginning to volunteer there, we passed this big cafeteria and everybody was moving slow. I was just secretly looking because I knew many elderly do not like to be starred at especially from me that looks way too young to be there. So instantly knew that they would weakened from the age and their bones not as strong so they would also dealing with thinner skin. Just like my girlfriend’s grandma whose skin is very thin and feels soft. She struggled to get up the bed and would move slow with an elderly relator walker. She has the ability to sit on if she did not felt like standing anymore and sit on her chair that the stroller came with. Warta also said, “You may be called named or told you are “too young” to understand their situation” (par. 5). This is true, when I first started I worked with this man and he wanted me to go and get the remote for him and kept on doing what he asked for. Until he finally asked me, “you look to young to work here,” I went along with it as Nora told me