SAMPLE FINAL CESEP PAPER
I have always been taught by my parents that if you want to learn something you have to go ahead and carry out it out yourself: that is the only way to learn, not only effectively but to discover the value of what you’re learning. Along with all of the other experiences I have gained from learning, I choose CESEP to be one of them. I know that in any situation that involves people is always positive, whether strengthening a choice or providing just cause for choosing an alternative. As everyone knows right about now, I am going to be a professional in the medical field. The reason why I say “I am” is because I have already discovered so much in the things will assist me in that endeavor.
It would be a crime against myself and anyone else, who could have profited from what I learned, to let all of that information I have been exposed to go in vain. In CESEP, I was given the opportunity to see the other side of medicine: the patient, the most important aspect and surprisingly the most over-looked. I went into the program with an open mind and when I was initially given my two “assignments” I was given a piece of paper with all of their information on it: names, addresses, family history, current relatives, doctors, chronic diseases, etc. I was hoping that through this encounter that as a physician I would be familiar with looking past paper and seeing everyone’s story, their life. This is the purpose of my involvement with CESEP. I was giving the chance to learn from two of the strongest women I have ever met.
The two ladies are Nettie Brown (age 84) and Marie Russell (age 90). They are African American women that suffer from some kind of illness. Their husbands both died from chronic illnesses and neither of them had children; therefore they reside alone. They are both disabled and have a low income level. According to National Institute of Health, many older African American women are vulnerable to social isolation and economic hardship. Nearly 40 percent of African American women ages 65 and older live alone compared to 19 percent of African American males ages 65 and older. Therefore, for their safety both reside in apartments that are only for senior citizens. They are real apartments that include a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living area the facility also provides them with meals on wheels, housekeeping, security, 24-hour maintenance and other services that makes the setting more comfortable. Both buildings provide religious services, and social activities that allow them to interact amongst other residents.
Upon meeting the two ladies, they were very open in discussing their life history and inner feelings to me, like they have known me for years. I believe it is because no one has asked for their opinions or feelings, without it being in reference to their physical condition, in such a long time. They spoke about their illnesses and experiences with dealing with loved ones that have died before them, for example, cardiovascular disease and hypertension, where there is 38.2% prevalence in African Americans. However most of the time, they are always concerned with what I am feeling, and when I begin to turn it around on them asking them their feelings then they get defensive. I think at times, they feel like they are being looked on as children (even though I don’t treat them that way), especially since they both have some condition where they seem to be restrained by either medication or a handicap, they absolutely DO NOT want to be regarded as old and frail, but by the way they talk and act they are the liveliest than even some of my own peers. I am impressed by them in so many ways.
But past all of the sullen moments, there are times where they love to reminisce. I am always afraid that it will sadden them when they look up at the pictures and talk about events passed, but I don’t try to avoid it. Whenever they begin to tell their stories I that they lighten up and feel a comfort in retelling how they lived and what they have been through. It seems to me that they would rather relive it then pretend that they never happened. This is why I believe that both women have so many pictures up hanging on their walls. They don’t let the present erase their past and shorten their future. When I think of that I mostly think of Marie. She is wheelchair bound because of the water retention in her legs. She sometimes refers to herself as “cripple” but I don’t think she means it in a demeaning way because she is so independent. She doesn’t let the wheelchair keep her from doing chores, cooking, cleaning, and other things. She knows that she has lived and loved. Another thing about the ladies is that they also listen to me. Whenever I speak or have something to say they listen to me attentively, which most people don’t do. Most of my experiences were in detail in my journal.
I have become quite fond with both even after, I will continue to make visits and keep in contact with them. And even though the ladies have never met they share so many similarities, which I believe has been a result their cultural background as African Americans and women. Both religious and strong, they overcome all obstacles in a world with all of the strength they have gathered from their life experiences and do not let their illnesses get the best of them. I hope I have impacted them as they have impacted me.
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