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Aging : A Better Understanding How The Process Of Aging Affects Older Adults

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In an order to gain a better understanding how the process of aging affects older adults, I interviewed my neighbor, a sixty-seven year old man. For the purposes of this paper, I will refer to him as Pat. Pat lives with his wife of forty-three years. They currently live in a home in Mounds View, which they have owned for twenty-four years. They receive no home services. He views aging as inevitable. He added that, although there are plenty of negative things that are associated with aging, there are definitely perks that come along with it. He believes that maintaining a healthy lifestyle, carrying a positive attitude, and accepting changes as they come, has helped him adjust to growing old. Pat has been retired for nearly three years. Pat appreciates retirement because he gets to watch his two year old grandson during the week. On the weekends, he gets together with family and friends. He enjoys fishing, hunting, reading, and cheering on his favorite sports teams. Pat has a primary doctor that he has seen for several years. He had a myocardial infarction in 2001, and has since been on two prescribed medications for his heart. In addition, he has arthritis, and has been living with chronic pain for nearly a year. The majority of the pain is in his lower back. He stated that the pain will come and go, but it hurts the most in the morning when he gets out of bed, and when he stands or sits for long periods of time. At the time of the interview, I asked on a scale of 0 through

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