In terms of Magda’s medication; on realizing that Alec was stealing his grandmother’s medication to support his drug habits, Helen resolved to remove the medication from Magda’s apartment and visit her twice a day to bring her the medication. This was done without Magda’s consent or input. Infantilism was as well significantly manifested when Helen decided to call the pharmacy to explain Magda’s situation regarding her medication and requesting for a refill without necessarily considering if Magda wanted to do it herself. Other decisions that manifested infantilism included hiring a woman to check on Magda twice per week. Moreover, Helen cooked, cleaned the house, paid bills, and bought food without Magda asking or requesting. On realizing that Alec was stealing from his grandmother, Helen decided to remove all valuables from Magda’s apartment as a remedy and chose not to involve the police nor tell John about the ordeal without considering what Magda wanted. Taking Alec out of Magda’s home and finding her a supported living arrangement without consulting her on what she preferred also showed exhibited infantilism (Plummer et al., 2014).
As Helen narrated, at some point, Magda fell and broke her hip warranting Helen to be her caretaker. This is in tandem with the first domain; physical well-being and health where falling and physical injury are inclusive. Magda’s dementia accrued from her age, and as such, she was neither psychologically nor mentally well in accordance with the second domain. Given Magda’s dementia which acts as the common factor between the second and third domain, it is prudent to say that Magda’s cognitive capacity was affected. This is essentially evidenced by the fact that she could not quickly process that the disappearance of medication and checks were acts of theft by Alec. Magda also could not satisfy the fourth domain (ability to perform various ADLs) in the sense that, due to her broken hip and dementia, she could not cook for herself, clean the house, or go to the pharmacy for a refill of her medication (Christ & Diwan, 2008).
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Due to her limited mobility and home confinement, Magda could not function socially in terms of activities and integration. This could also be explained by the little social contact Magda had. Furthermore, given her age (81 years), Magda’s environment was not conducive for her in the sense that it led to her falling and breaking her hip. In relation to the seventh domain (assessment of family caregivers), due to her broken hip and dementia, Magda mainly depended on her family to take care of her in terms of her bills, food and hiring a woman caregiver which strained Helen and John’s finances as well as their marriage. To this end, Helen developed anxiety which resorted in her and the family considering the nursing home option for Magda (Plummer et al., 2014).
References
Christ, G., & Diwan, S. (2008). Chronic Illness and Aging Section 2: The Role of Social Work in Managing Chronic Illness Care. Council on Social Work Education. Retrieved from https://www.cswe.org/getattachment/Centers-Initiatives/CSWE-Gero-Ed-Center/Teaching-Tools/Gero-Competencies/Practice-Guides/Assignments-Measurments/CI-Sec2-Role-SW.pdf.aspx
Plummer, Beth, S., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. (2014). Sessions: Case Histories. Laureate Publishing, VitalBook File.
