05 Oct Throughout this class, we will meet two families, the Maldonado’s and the Olson’s. The two families are considered extended family via Sarah and Joe Miller.

Family Document

Throughout this class, we will meet two families, the Maldonado’s and the Olson’s. The two families are

 

considered extended family via Sarah and Joe Miller. We will learn about their relationships, work

 

environments, and the psychosocial effects related to health challenges faced by each family. You will

 

use this document for the discussions and written assignments. We begin with the Maldonado family.

 

Manny and Donna Maldonado have been married for 42 years. Manny is age 65 and Donna is 63. Sarah,

 

Mike and Becky are the children of Manny and Donna Maldonado. Sarah is the eldest daughter,

 

followed by her brother, Mike, and her sister, Becky.

 

? Manny is Hispanic American and owns a 20,000-acre produce farm that has been in his family for

 

three generations. Although Manny speaks and understands English, he prefers to speak Spanish.

 

This creates a language barrier between Manny and other family members who do not speak

 

Spanish. Donna is fluent in Spanish, having learned the language from Manny and his family.

 

? Donna works on the farm with her husband. She has long suffered from mood swings, which is

 

mostly frustrating to Manny. He says it is “brujeria,” meaning her moods are caused by witchcraft

 

and “mal d ojo” or “evil eye.” He believes someone put a spell on Donna. When this is believed to

 

be the case, the person will visit a Curandero (healer) who will perform a healing ritual.

 

o Sarah works as a nurse, and recently took Family Leave of Medical Absence (FMLA) due to

 

her children’s recent issues.

 

o Joe is the President of Illusion Technologies. Joe’s parents are John and Ella Miller. More

 

details about Joe are shared in the Olson family section below.

 

? Lucy, age 20, has a history of severe substance use disorder, along with having been

 

diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In the past two years, Lucy has had four different jobs.

 

She is unable to hold a job long-term. She now works on her grandparent’s produce

 

farm.

 

? Josh, age 17, has been sneaking away with friends, smoking marijuana and skipping

 

school.

 

? Evan, age 10, was recently diagnosed with leukemia; however, he has not yet started

 

treatments. Evan’s doctors have recommended chemotherapy, radiation, and a bone

 

marrow transplant. Sarah and Joe intend to follow this treatment plan.

 

o Mike Maldonado is age 36. He currently works for a state University as a tenured faculty of

 

the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Mike was recently diagnosed with HIV.

 

o Dan was Mike’s husband. He recently passed away at the age of 38 due to an AIDS-related

 

illness. They were married for 10 years. Mike and Dan did not have any children.

 

o Becky is age 33. She is divorced and working on the family produce farm as well as

 

attending a local college at night to complete her bachelor’s degree in Child Psychology. She

 

has one child, Abe.

 

? Abe is age 12. He is a good student, but his behavior has changed recently, showing

 

anger and defiance towards both of his parents and several teachers at school. His

 

mother, Becky, has been treating Abe’s behavioral changes with diet and alternative

 

medicines.

 

Next, we will meet the Olson family.

 

Frederic Olson was married to Mary Olson. Mary passed away 10 years ago at the age of 77. Frederic is

 

age 87. Ella is the only child of Frederic and Mary Olson.

 

? Fredric has pronounced symptoms from Parkinson’s disease. He has tremors and balance problems,

 

along with muscle stiffness and gait (manor of walking) changes. He struggles to begin any

 

movement. However, once he is moving, he cannot stop easily. His gait has changed to smaller

 

steps and shuffling.

 

? As he progresses through the stages of the disease, Frederic needs increasing assistance with his

 

activities of daily living (ADLs), which entails bathing, dressing, food preparation, eating, taking

 

medications, et cetera. He recently moved to an Assisted Living community and only leaves the

 

facility for medical appointments. The family visits Grandpa Frederic on an alternating schedule at

 

his new home every week. The Assisted Living community has regularly scheduled social events in

 

which Grandpa Frederic actively participates.

 

o Ella is married to John Miller. Ella and John are both 70 years old. John and Manny

 

Maldonado are best friends. Ella and Manny grew up together on their neighboring farms.

 

Ella and John recently sold their 10,000-acre farm to the Maldonado family since the two

 

farms were adjacent to each other.

 

o Ella has been trying to heal herself from breast cancer using a variety of natural means. She

 

grew up on a farm and was accustomed to using home remedies. Therefore, Ella is not

 

willing to utilize Western medicine practices.

 

o While the alternative health care methods kept Ella in remission for a few years, recently

 

she learned the cancer has returned. In addition, the cancer has metastasized to her lungs

 

and bones. Ella has chosen to forego Western medical treatment options such as

 

chemotherapy, radiation, and pharmacological breast cancer treatment medications. She

 

has requested to live out her last days at home. Ella has agreed to be admitted to Hospice

 

home care, with John as her primary caregiver. Ella and John are seeking quality palliative

 

end of life care.

 

o John, Ella’s husband, is of Native American origin. He is well educated and uses Western

 

medicine, but relies heavily on Native American methods, such as meditation and banishing

 

bad spirits from their home. John speaks fluent Spanish, having learned the language as a

 

child.

 

o John is an attorney for the Maldonado produce farm and his son’s company, Illusion

 

Technologies.

 

o John and Ella’s children are Sam, age 50, Lila, age 45, and Joe, age 43.

 

? Sam is divorced and has no children. He works as a foreman on the Maldonado produce

 

farm. He is an alcoholic and has been diagnosed with severe substance use disorder due

 

to his alcohol addiction. His alcohol use is affecting his position as the foreman. Over

 

the past few months, he has experienced emotional outbursts, missed work, and started

 

arguments with the workers, third-party wholesalers, and Al Goldberg (Olson family).

 

Sam has been upset that his parents sold the family farm to the Maldonado family

 

instead of passing it down to him.

 

? Lila, age 47, is married to Al Goldberg. She is a Social Worker for the state. Her job is

 

very stressful as her caseload includes at-risk children. There is a great deal of

 

documentation required; therefore, she works many 10 to 12 hour days. Lila is

 

overweight and has Type II diabetes. She has not controlled her weight or diabetes well.

 

Recently, her doctor changed her medication. She is now taking daily insulin injections

 

to help manage her diabetes.

 

? Al, age 47, Lila’s husband, is the general manager of the Maldonado family produce

 

farm. Al had first option for buying the Olson family farm. He opted out of purchasing

 

the farm and agreed with the sale to the Maldonado family. He has no known health

 

issues; however, due to an early childhood trauma, he is afraid of hospitals and funeral

 

homes.

 

? Alisha is Lila and Al’s only child. She is 20 years old and is currently attending college

 

full time on a nursing scholarship. The college campus is an hour away from her

 

parent’s home. She lives on campus in the dorms, does not work at this time, and

 

has no known health problems.

 

? Joe, who is Sarah (from the Maldonado family) Miller’s husband, is the President of

 

Illusion Technologies, a rapidly growing company with 50 employees. He has a patent

 

pending on two security-based software programs that could be worth millions. He and

 

his father are in negotiations to purchase land to build a state-of-the-art office building.

 

? Sarah, Joe’s wife, is a nurse and recently took a Family Medical Leave of Absence (FMLA)

 

due to the health and behavioral problems with her children. Details about Joe and

 

Sara’s children are shared in the Maldonado family section.

 

The family members share a long history of friendship and love of farming. They have shared many life

 

events, such as holidays, births, and deaths. Their families have been intertwined for generations

 

through the raising of the children and grandchildren. For the most part, the families get along well.

 

However, even though they share some of the same cultural traditions and backgrounds, they do clash

 

from time to time. For instance, some of the Olson family members are not in full agreement with Ella’s

 

use of home remedies and alternative treatments for her breast cancer. However, the Maldonado

 

family understands and supports her choices. Further, Ella is encouraging Sarah Miller and Mike

 

Maldonado to pursue Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) to treat Evan’s leukemia and

 

Mike’s HIV. The members of both families are dealing with very busy schedules and major health

 

challenges.

 

 

 

For this discussion, refer to the information in the SOC313 Family DocumentPreview the document. Lucy Miller is a 20 year old who has recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She is working on the family farm. She would rather work elsewhere because she does not get along well with her family. However, she has been fired from four jobs in the past two years and this is her only option for work currently. Lucy began experimenting casually with illegal drugs in high school after a particularly challenging year, and found that they helped her mood swings. Unfortunately, she kept getting them from friends and has now become addicted to drugs.

 

Examine the potential biological basis for Lucy’s psychological disorder. For example, what, if anything, in her family history might point to this issue as being hereditary? Consider the biases that are often held regarding mental illness. Is individual choice involved in mental illness? Discuss your thoughts on how much is related to environment and genetics. Discuss how society relates to mental illness when we know the person well versus when the person is a stranger (e.g., a homeless individual or a panhandler on the street). How has society’s behaviors contributed to the adverse long-term outcomes for people with mental illness?

 

Your initial post must be a minimum of 250 words with at least one scholarly source beyond your textbook.

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