Finally Finished

We are finally done with our project. On Monday we did our presentation in the dorm and I think that went over very well. We had about ten or fifteen people show up which was fairly good. Most of the people there we our friends so sometimes they weren’t always on their best behavior. When things did get settled down the presentation was really good and some of the guys even had questions. I think we did a good job explaining everything to them even the things that weren’t in the power point.
Now that it is all over I’m really glad that I did the project. When we first decided to do a project on common dorm sicknesses I didn’t think I would learn very much because again these things are quite common and people just know about them. But, there were some very interesting things about some of these sicknesses that we found we quite interesting. Some of the troubles we ran into while working on this project was just time to work together. We all had very different schedules and personal lives that sometimes made it hard for us to communicate with each other outside of class. We got over these obstacles very well and we put together a great project.
Looking back on what we did I think that we probably should have done more sicknesses. The ones we did were great and worked really well for our concept but there were a few others that we could have done that would have made it better. I also found the teaching aspect to be quite difficult. It can be challenging to get eighteen and nineteen year old guys to always stay on track and focused. Now I can see what some teachers may have to go through and I can say it can be a little frustrating.
Although teaching was difficult at times it was a great experience. It taught me that even though when I’m in class there are things that we do that don’t seem so bad really do annoy teachers. This I’m hoping will help me develop into a better student. I really enjoyed working with my group. We got a lot accomplished and we worked well together. Overall I had lots of fun working on this project and I got a lot more out of it than I ever thought. It was a fun and interesting experience for me and I enjoyed it a lot more than I ever thought I would.

I learned Where Debot Goes

Going into the service learning project I was pretty skeptical about the learning part. I knew that I would be doing a service to for the community but was not to sure about how much I was going to learn. During my service learning project I learned a lot of new information as well as incite into the social aspects of trying to educate the public. A majority of the people who walked through the HEC were unresponsive to the information that we were presenting. For the most part the people who stopped were people we knew and were curious to see what we were doing. If I did this project again, I would chose a more interesting subject and have a more interactive display so that we could get more people we didn’t know to get curious and come check it out. Learning how to more effectively engage and teach the public is an important skill I gained from this project. This is an important skill to learn because I plan on having a career in natural resource management and teaching the public about current issues is a part of that job. I also gained skills in teamwork during this project. In order for us to put a successful project together we had to make decisions about the information, poster size, design, layout etc. that satisfied the whole group.Learning about the digestive system and the common diseases for the different organs has helped me make wiser lifestyle choices. Eating a more balanced diet and cutting down on my alcohol consumption are two things that I have been doing and as a result my digestive system is healthier and I feel better than ever. Before this project I didn’t know why I got ailments like acid reflux and canker sores but now I know how to avoid getting them. The service learning project connected to a couple of my classes. The first was the lab portion of our class. When dissecting the rat, crayfish, etc. I was able to identify the different digestive organs because they were pretty similar to the human digestive system. It also connected to my health and wellness class because a big part of staying healthy is keeping your digestive system healthy and eating

Where Debot Goes #2

Adam, Tyler and I have been working out what all is going on our post. We decided to that we are going to talk about all the different important areas in the digestion system. We are going to include what each one does with the food and what some common diseases are that are found in there. We are going to be talking to someone from the HEC to see when we can set up a stand for our poster. Our post will include a complete picture of the whole digestive tract and all the information that we have been gathering from get sources. Our sources are giving us the perfect information that we need to complete our project.

Where Debot Goes #2

Our project on “Where Debot Goes” is coming along. Right now we are in the information gathering stages. I found an extremely helpful website that tells all about the human digestive system, all the parts, a detailed description of all of the parts and the problems that can go wrong with each part or problems patients have had. We are planning on for sure having a few informational posters to show the digestive system and maybe we will make a model to show a more 3-D view. We also plan on getting a hold of someone in the HEC so we can put our project on display. Soon we are going to get together to combine all of the information that we have found and then we will start working on the posters and the potential model. I really think I will learn a lot about some of the problems that you hear people have with their digestive system and overall it will be a good experience.

Dorm Sickness

Like Chris and Eric both have already said, our project is coming along. We found a lot of good facts that we are interested in, its now just a matter of choosing which ones to use. The pamphlets are about ready to be printed which means completion is near and toilet users will become more knowledgeable and amused. I like working with these men, a lot of fun, and we work together which is nice to have from a group. Soon our pamphlets will be coming to a toilet stall near you!

Dorm sicknesses

Reasearch on our common dorm sicknesses is going ahead as planed. We have been able to narrow our search down to the more common sicknesses. There is alot of information and it is a little overwellming but we are making go progress. We have already started and are close to finishing our bathroom pamphlets but we are trying to think of ways to make the pamphlets alittle more exciting so people want to read them. One of the challenges that we have run across so far is trying to put the information we have collected into laymens terms so that people will understand the material. We are thinking of ways to make it a little more appealing to the eye aswell, which might include some pictures here and there. Other than a few bumps in the road everything is going well.

Bingo!

For my project I am working with people with Alzheimer's and dementia. Alzheimer's happens in stages, and at this place most of the residents are in the final stages. They can't function on their own and need help with bascially everything: bathing, eating, and dressing. They can still talk, but a lot of the time it doesn't make any sense because they talk about past events and people as if they are happening now. A good way to picture them is think of a toddler in an elderly person's body. It is extremely hard to see people like this, its sad and frustrating at the same time. It's very hard to remember they are still people, and they once had lives just like you and me.

I played bingo with the residents for activity last week. I was nervous because I didn't think they would understand what to do. They did really well though, especially one resident in particular. She can't dress herself, feed herself, or even move herself. But when it came to bingo she was a pro. She put all the chips in the right places without me helping her, and it was great seeing that she still had some cognitive ability.

I also gave the residents a snack, a vanilla wafer bar. Their response to these bars was overwhelming. They all thanked me and some said "Oh I love you!" It was such a little gesture, but I felt like I made their whole day because they were so excited. One resident however looked at me with confusion when I gave her a bar. She asked me, "Waht do I do with this?" I told her to eat it, but she still didn't get it, so I had to motion a gesture as if I were eating, and she understood and ate it. It was hard to see this old woman not understand how to eat, but seeing the other residents so excited about the snack really makes this project enjoyable and meaningful to me.

Dorm Awareness

Research is going really good on our common dorm sicknesses. The amount of information is a little more than expected but we are getting through it ok. The hard part is finding the information that we want to convey to our fellow students that is understandable. We are making good progress and our bathroom pamphlets are almost ready to go up. We are thinking of ways to make it a little more appealing to the eye and also to make it a little more fun to read. I think throwing in some fun facts along with it will help. Other than that everything is going really good and we are working really well together.

Hospice Volunteering: Take One

On Saturday morning I arrived at the nursing home which I was going to be volunteering at. I had to go through a brief training session, which basically explained to me what was acceptable/unacceptable to talk to these patients about, what I should expect, and some general information about the patients that I would be encountering. The typical patient that is put on hospice is expected to live 6 more months or less. The first patient that I visited and talked with was an elderly woman who was very friendly and glad to see me. I learned that she was not diagnosed with anything specific; she was just dying of old age. In other words, her body was just giving out after having worked so hard for so long. In my training I learned that when patients are dying of old age an obvious sign that they are slipping is that they stop drinking and their body produces very little urine and it is not diluted at all. The lady that I was talking with told me that she had suffered from 3 minor strokes within the last month, which made it a little bit hard to understand her but I was able to make out what she was saying after I got used to it. It was disheartening to think that this nice old woman may die before the next time I get to see her.

A Little Cooking and A Big Parachute

On Friday morning I made my way over to the health care facility. When I got there I was told that we would be making cookies for the first hour. I went around and rounded up as many of the residents as I could that wanted to participate. I'm starting to see that the same residents are the ones coming to the activity times. It does not seem like many of the others really want to even bother coming because they either see no point, or they just have no idea what is going on and cannot comprehend anything. After making the cookies we made our way over to the larger activity room to play with a huge parachute to get their upper muscles working. Every one of the residents that I've met so far are confided to a wheelchair, so the nurses and staff try their hardest to make sure that the residents exercise some part of their body. While playing with the parachute I was talking with one of the staff members about one of the residents that was particularly enjoying this activity. He seemed so happy and had the biggest smile across his face the entire time. I pointed this out to the staff member, after which she informed me that he suffered from something called sundown. Sundown is a condition very common in dementia patients, it occurs when it starts to become dark out and the patient will start to become very aggressive and moody. They get sad and depressed and do not understand where they are or why they are there. I really enjoy spending time with the residents but it is starting to take a toll on my emotions. It’s really hard to watch these people suffer like this.

Living with Dementia

For my service-learning project I will be volunteering at the Portage County Health Care Center. Here I will spend time with older people who suffer from dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Many of the people in the home are very unaware of where they are and how they got there. Also because they are getting along in their later years many of them have difficulty hearing. So what I hope to get out of this experience is to have a better understanding of how people get dementia and how they have to live with it. I want to get to know the residents of this home and spend some good quality time having fun and trying to enjoy life with these people. Also hopefully learning to be heard by a deaf person.

Alzheimer's Project

For my service learning project, I'm volunteering at an Alzheimer's and dementia home. I work at this place, but I never really get to spend time just being with the residents. This will be a great opportunity to get to know them better and hopefully brighten their day. I think it is so sad that their lives are ending this way, and most of the residents don't have many family or friends left, so they can get really lonely. Before I go and give my time, I'm going to study Alzheimer's and learn more about the disease, the stages, and what symptoms I can expect to see. Twice a week I'll be going to the home which houses about 20 residents and spend time with them doing activities and socializing. I want to help the residents, and make their day a little better by having fun with them. I also want to gain a better understanding of the Alzheimer's, dementia, and the aging process first hand by spending time with these people.

Cancer Patients

For my service learning project, I will be volunteering with hospice services either in the Stevens Point Area or through the hospital in my home town. For those of you who don't know, people involved with hospice are not nurses, but when someone is dying they can give them pain medication and basically keep them as comfortable as possible as they are dying. I plan to spend at least an hour or two a week visiting with one of these hospice patients, and hopefully I will be able to learn more about their illnesses and teach them a few things also. When I find out what the patient is suffering from, I will research all that I can in order to be able to answer any questions that they might have. I am doing this because I want to be a doctor, particularly an Oncologist (cancer), and I'm hoping to learn more and learn how to interact with people that suffer from things like cancer. I will also be learning on my own about what they are suffering from as I research it independently.

Common Dorm Sicknesses

My service learning project is dealing with common sicknesses that many students that live in the dorms may be exposed to. Our job is to research many of these sicknesses and keep students in our dorms aware of what they are, how they effect you, and what you can do to prevent them. We will be putting up posters and fliers in our dorms promoting healthy practices and letting students know what symptoms may be like and how to properly protect themselves. Also we will be doing an informational night in my dorm where people can come an ask questions and be informed that way as well. Hopefully we will be able to learn about some of the sicknesses ourselves because there is so much out there that students in dorms are exposed to. Our goal is to make ourselves and other students more aware of what kinds of diseases and sicknesses are around them. Hopefully making a healthier community.