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RubyConf 2017: Hello Gmom!: Addressing loneliness in end-of-life care by Jeremy Flores After suffering a debilitating stroke, Barbara, my significant other's grandmother, was left disabled, bed-bound, and mostly non-verbal. We visited often, and were with her when she passed earlier this year. For Christmas, I built her a web application to be a window into the life of her granddaughter. Now that she’s passed, I’m hoping that the project can be a foundation or inspiration for others to build tools that bring them closer to the people they love. This small project--a $5 computer and some “off-the-shelf” technology--increased the quality of life for all of us.
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The video titled "Hello Gmom!: Addressing loneliness in end-of-life care" by Jeremy Flores, presented at RubyConf 2017, addresses the profound issues of loneliness and emotional distress in end-of-life care, particularly from the perspective of caregivers and loved ones. Through his talk, Flores shares his personal experiences caring for his significant other's grandmother, Barbara, who suffered from debilitating strokes resulting in her being bed-bound and mostly non-verbal. This led to a significant disconnection between Barbara and her family, particularly her granddaughter, Bren. Key points discussed include: - **Content Warning**: The speaker opens with an acknowledgment of the heavy topics of terminal illness and associated emotions, allowing audience members to take care of their emotional wellbeing. - **Narrative Development**: Flores recounts how Barbara's independence declined following her strokes and how this affected her relationship with Bren, who struggled with feelings of loneliness and guilt. - **Impact of Loneliness**: Drawing on research, he discusses how loneliness and social isolation can significantly increase mortality risk, stressing that both subjective and objective loneliness have dire consequences for health. - **Solution Development**: Faced with their shared isolation, Flores conceptualized a project to build a communication tool using a $5 Raspberry Pi Zero, aiming to bridge the gap of communication with Barbara. This involved creating an application that allowed family members to send messages, photo updates, and other content to Barbara, providing her with a sense of connection to their lives. - **Technical Implementation**: The speaker details the technology stack used, including Twilio for SMS capabilities and a web app built using Ruby on Rails, emphasizing the importance of user-centered design based on Barbara’s needs and abilities. - **Personal Outcome**: The project was ultimately a means of reconnecting Barbara to her family, significantly improving her quality of life and maintaining her dignity during her difficult last years. In conclusion, Flores encourages the audience to address small yet impactful problems for loved ones rather than pursuing broad, marketable solutions. He advocates for building tools that enhance personal connections, highlighting that many of us could take steps to improve the lives of those we care about, even without expecting monetary gain. The overarching message focuses on the importance of compassion and the human spirit in technology.
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