Ptolemy Grey was a very interesting person, the events that happen in his life was unacceptable mainly as an senior older adult of his age and with the medical condition he had. After reading this book the five terms that come to mind are as follow; Bereavement, Elder Mistreatment/Abuse, Environmental Gerontology, Loneliness, and Quality of Life.
Ptolemy felt "bereavement" when the people he was close to and loved died, their death was to much to handle, they were either set-up to be killed ( Billy Knight), died (Sensia), or murdered (Reggie and Coy). This took away part of his heart and life when Sensia, Reggie, and Coy were no longer alive. The book talks about "during the course of lifetime, every individual will experience bereavement following the loss of a friend, family member or other love one". "The situation of individuals who anticipate or experience the loss of someone significant through that person's death, and the subsequent adjustments made as a result" Phillips, Ajrouch, & Hillcoat-Nalletamby.
Mr. Gray received much "elder mistreatment and abuse" from Melinda often when she took his money in his apartment and when she seen him on the streets she tries to jump on him and take his money. Ptolemy was very scared of Melinda because of what happens to him when he see her until he started being protected by other people from her. Hilly his blood relative took him to the bank and had him to sign three of his checks and only gave him money from one of the checks instead of giving him all of his money from all three checks. Hilly felt Ptolemy would not notice he stole his money because at that time Ptolemy's memory was bad but it wasn't that bad, Ptolemy knew what Hilly had done. Alfred wanted to jump on Ptolemy in his own niece house the day of Reggie wait service. The so called Doctor Ruben didn't mean Ptolemy any good, he only wanted his body when he died. On pgs. 189-190 the Dr. only came over to check on Ptolemy to see have he died yet. Now I ask you, "what type of doctor is that"? Per the text book "mistreatment is either abuse or neglect, and intentional or unintentional, also destructive behavior is physical, emotional, psychological and also financial" " Actions perpetrated by a trusted other, intended or not, that risk harm to a vulnerable older adult" Phillips, Ajrouch,& Hillcoat-Nalletamby.
Ptolemy became a hoarder, his apartment had roaches, rodents, all types of crawling and flying bugs in it, dirt, dusk, grease, and we are not going to talk about what was in his toilet and bathroom, old stack newspaper, all types of old furniture and the list goes on and on. Ptolemy could not bring himself to get rid of anything he or Sensia brought into the house, he felt very comfortable in his apartment although it was a mess. For him it was a something he could hold on to of his past with Sensia as well as items he received from Coy. This is called "environmental gerontology" , per the text book , "it is the interaction between the older person and their environments. It also deals with the social, natural, and psychological environment; and the environment as public, private and personal space" Phillips, Ajrouch, & Hillcoat-Nalletamby. Also dementia was causing him not to be able to live any type of "quality of life", for example; he would hide items in his apartment and his memory would fail him, he then sometimes would forget were he has placed certain items. The way he lived in his apartment was not fit for a dog to live in until Robyn came in and clean it up. Not only did she clean up his apartment she brought Ptolemy happiness, companionship as well as love. Quality of life per the text book states is "a multidimensional concept embracing subjective and objective appreciation of an older person's life situation in the context of their socio-cultural and economic environment" Phillips, Ajrouch & Hillcoat-Nalletamby. It is a more positive view of later life and to view successful ageing from a variety of perspectives (Evans, 2009).
Mr. Gray experience and suffered a great deal of "loneliness" when people around him was dying the only person he trusted was Reggie until he was murdered. Ptolemy only went out of the house to go to the bank, restaurant, and store only with Reggie. Ptolemy only two children did not want to have anything to do with him. Mr. Gray never socialize with other family members or his neighbors or anyone. He became a loner, he kept to himself. especially once Sensia passed. It is stated per text book that loneliness is "undesirable or negative feeling about how individuals perceive their situation in relation to others, particularly with regard to social engagement and interaction" Phillips, Ajrouch, & Hillcoat-Nalletamby.
References
Mosley, W. (2010). The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. Riverhead: N.Y., U. S.A
Phillips, J., Ajrouch, K., & Hillcoat-Nalletamby, S. (2010). Key Concepts in Social Gerontology. Sage: Thousand Oaks, California
Ptolemy felt "bereavement" when the people he was close to and loved died, their death was to much to handle, they were either set-up to be killed ( Billy Knight), died (Sensia), or murdered (Reggie and Coy). This took away part of his heart and life when Sensia, Reggie, and Coy were no longer alive. The book talks about "during the course of lifetime, every individual will experience bereavement following the loss of a friend, family member or other love one". "The situation of individuals who anticipate or experience the loss of someone significant through that person's death, and the subsequent adjustments made as a result" Phillips, Ajrouch, & Hillcoat-Nalletamby.
Mr. Gray received much "elder mistreatment and abuse" from Melinda often when she took his money in his apartment and when she seen him on the streets she tries to jump on him and take his money. Ptolemy was very scared of Melinda because of what happens to him when he see her until he started being protected by other people from her. Hilly his blood relative took him to the bank and had him to sign three of his checks and only gave him money from one of the checks instead of giving him all of his money from all three checks. Hilly felt Ptolemy would not notice he stole his money because at that time Ptolemy's memory was bad but it wasn't that bad, Ptolemy knew what Hilly had done. Alfred wanted to jump on Ptolemy in his own niece house the day of Reggie wait service. The so called Doctor Ruben didn't mean Ptolemy any good, he only wanted his body when he died. On pgs. 189-190 the Dr. only came over to check on Ptolemy to see have he died yet. Now I ask you, "what type of doctor is that"? Per the text book "mistreatment is either abuse or neglect, and intentional or unintentional, also destructive behavior is physical, emotional, psychological and also financial" " Actions perpetrated by a trusted other, intended or not, that risk harm to a vulnerable older adult" Phillips, Ajrouch,& Hillcoat-Nalletamby.
Ptolemy became a hoarder, his apartment had roaches, rodents, all types of crawling and flying bugs in it, dirt, dusk, grease, and we are not going to talk about what was in his toilet and bathroom, old stack newspaper, all types of old furniture and the list goes on and on. Ptolemy could not bring himself to get rid of anything he or Sensia brought into the house, he felt very comfortable in his apartment although it was a mess. For him it was a something he could hold on to of his past with Sensia as well as items he received from Coy. This is called "environmental gerontology" , per the text book , "it is the interaction between the older person and their environments. It also deals with the social, natural, and psychological environment; and the environment as public, private and personal space" Phillips, Ajrouch, & Hillcoat-Nalletamby. Also dementia was causing him not to be able to live any type of "quality of life", for example; he would hide items in his apartment and his memory would fail him, he then sometimes would forget were he has placed certain items. The way he lived in his apartment was not fit for a dog to live in until Robyn came in and clean it up. Not only did she clean up his apartment she brought Ptolemy happiness, companionship as well as love. Quality of life per the text book states is "a multidimensional concept embracing subjective and objective appreciation of an older person's life situation in the context of their socio-cultural and economic environment" Phillips, Ajrouch & Hillcoat-Nalletamby. It is a more positive view of later life and to view successful ageing from a variety of perspectives (Evans, 2009).
Mr. Gray experience and suffered a great deal of "loneliness" when people around him was dying the only person he trusted was Reggie until he was murdered. Ptolemy only went out of the house to go to the bank, restaurant, and store only with Reggie. Ptolemy only two children did not want to have anything to do with him. Mr. Gray never socialize with other family members or his neighbors or anyone. He became a loner, he kept to himself. especially once Sensia passed. It is stated per text book that loneliness is "undesirable or negative feeling about how individuals perceive their situation in relation to others, particularly with regard to social engagement and interaction" Phillips, Ajrouch, & Hillcoat-Nalletamby.
References
Mosley, W. (2010). The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. Riverhead: N.Y., U. S.A
Phillips, J., Ajrouch, K., & Hillcoat-Nalletamby, S. (2010). Key Concepts in Social Gerontology. Sage: Thousand Oaks, California
RSS Feed