Howard Aging Case

Howard: A Case Study Aging is not always an easy process, while we experience many wonderful times in our life we also experience several times that are hard for us to deal with. One of the main differences for everyone is how we deal with the good times versus the bad times. Not only will it affect the outcome of a situation, but it will also influence the choices we are making for our future. Howard, the subject of this case study has made several bad choices according to him and blames much of his recent negative outcomes on past events. From the first observation of Howard, I could tell that he had a lot of anger built up and was often searching for a reason as to why negative things happen to him. Howard is 72 years old, has lived in …show more content…
He never went away to college, nor did he move far away from the house he grew up in. Howard lives in a relatively small house with his two dogs. He has never made any modifications in his home to increase his living ability and he also describes his house as cluttered. However, after my interviews with Howard, I got to know one of his friends, Earl, who described Howard as a hoarded and described Howard’s house as packed to the ceiling with useless junk. Many older adults start to look at options as to how they will spend their last years when it comes to things such as cooking. However, instead of moving places, some often just age in place (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2015). Howard is a perfect example of aging in place. Instead of finding help for everyday activities, he often heats up food in the microwave or goes out to eat. Howard often expresses his opinion to not ever go to a nursing home because he is afraid of changing his lifestyle. He often worries about what will happen with his dogs if he ends up terminally sick. …show more content…
He has two smaller cars that he swaps out driving during the week. While he seems to be a good driver, his friends have recently become worried about Howard being on the road. This is especially a concern because Howard spends most of his days driving around Greensboro and Winston-Salem for his job. Howard claims that after his accident the doctors told him he could go back to driving; however, several of his friends feel as if this was the wrong choice. He says that he finds himself only driving during the day and cannot remember the last time he went driving at night. He also states that he never goes farther than Winston-Salem or Burlington when driving during the