louis russo life story through the prism of older adult developmental theories

Older Adult Development

Assignment #3: Older Adult Development

Daniel R. Gaita, MA

March 23rd , 2016

University of Southern California

School of Social Work

SOWK 505

Professor Anne Blair, MSW, LCSW

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Case Description

General Information

Louis J. Russo, a veteran of the second world-war, was born August 1st, 1918 via mid-

wife at his home in New Canaan, Connecticut. He is the fifth born son of nine children. Both his

parents, agrarians, immigrated to the United States at the turn of the twentieth-century from

Naples, Italy. He is a lifelong bachelor, never married, and never had children.

Current Environment

Lou is 97 years old, under the supervision of an involuntary conservatorship provided by

the State of Connecticut, Housatonic Valley Probate court following an accidental fall he took in

his home in 2014. He currently resides in the same home he built in New Fairfield, Connecticut in

1965. He has a Medicaid provided live-in caretaker, is no longer ambulatory, has no use of his

right arm and hand, very limited used of his left hand, and is primarily wheel-chair bound.

He is currently in the process of regaining his dignity and independence after having his

entire life savings taken from him, his house stripped, and his assets scrapped at the hands of a

dysfunctional, court appointed, involuntary conservator who has since been identified, removed,

and ordered to repay as a direct result of Mr. Russo’s empowered actions and determination.

Since his self-described exploitation via the Connecticut Probate system he has garnered

the respect, adoration, and attention of state, national and local media agencies as well as local,

state and federal lawmakers. His case has blown the whistle on the mechanics of a dysfunctional

probate court system that exploits our nation’s most vulnerable while holding them hostage

against their will while they slowly die in nursing homes that extract them of every last penny

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while stripping them of their dignity during the last days of their lives.

Today Mr. Russo sits in his home that has since been repaired, modernized and enhanced

by way of generous veterans agencies, volunteers and donors. New found friends have taken up

his cause and have aggressively worked to restore both justice and his dignity.

Family History

Lou was raised in a Catholic family during a time of extreme poverty in America leading

up to and through the Great Depression. Both his parents were very capable as farmers and

utilized their Connecticut property to grow and store their own food for survival during the Great

Depression.

Lou’s father also worked in New York City as a stone crusher and later as an expert

blaster inside the underground tunnels that would later become the New York City subway

system. During this same period, Lou worked at Randalls Island in New York City as a powder

carrier.

Towards the end of of the Great Depression, Lou and four other brothers were called to

serve in the defense of their country. Lou enlisted into the United States Army at the age of

twenty and a half. He would serve from April 4th, 1941 thru July 13th, 1945. Three and a half of

those four plus years were served in the Pacific theatre of combat in the major battles of New

Guinea and Papua against the Empire of Japan just prior to Hirohito’s planned occupation of

Australia.

One of his brothers would die earlier in the European theatre fighting against the Nazi

regime. Lou learned of his brother’s death via V-Mail fighting in New Guinea and Papua.

Health Issues

Today Lou is non-ambulatory, wheelchair bound, has amputated toes on one foot, has very

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bad knees, had skin cancer removed from his hand, and experiences some digestive interruptions

that have resulted in his temporary hospitalization on two occasions since returning home from

the nursing home he alleges imprisoned, abused and neglected him for over seventeen months.

A major factor that has impacted Lou’s health for the prior ninety-five years was identified

in great detail during the interview. Specifically, that during the late 1940’s just after Lou returned

home from the war he began listening to Nutritionist, Dr. Carlton Fredricks via radio during the

day while working in an adhesive tape-making factory in Westchester County, New York. Lou

credits Dr. Frederick with changing his life at an early age (20’s) and putting him on the path of

proper nutrition and healthy living.

As a result, Lou has enjoyed a healthy life up until age ninety-five, free of disease and

sickness, while full of energy and vigor, with clear cognitions, a healthy heart, lungs, and better

than perfect vision. Lou was able to walk, work and highly function free of any injury or health

concern up until the day he was involuntarily conserved through probate court and placed into a

nursing home against his will.

Lou credits his excellent health throughout the first nine decades of his life to avoiding all

white wheat or rice products, all simple sugars and red meat while eating plenty of fruits,

vegetables, cheese (for calcium), and good quality fish products.

He further credits his good health later on in life for providing him with the resilience,

strength and endurance needed to tolerate his self-described period of imprisonment and abuse at

the hands of the Probate system and nursing home. “Were it not for being in good health when

they imprisoned me in that nursing home, I would have ended up crazy, deranged and drugged

like the rest of those poor souls in there.”

Social Development and Life History

Louis J. Russo was born and raised by strict but loving Catholic Italian immigrants, during

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the middle of a major global influenza epidemic, just prior to the worst economic depression in

world history and during the end of World War I. He is the fifth born child of nine; his family lost

one of his youngest brothers to infantile paralysis and another brother in WWII.

Lou considers all of the hardships endured by he and his family as valuable experiences

that emboldened both his sense of duty and personal work ethic while simultaneously fostering a

strong sense of resilience and self-worth. He deeply admires his father and mother and still has a

tremendous appreciation for his father’s contributions to his life. With exceptional appreciation

for both of his parents, Lou was proud to talk about how they made it through the depression by

growing their own food and even storing it underground in ditches, with leaves so that food could

be preserved during the winter months.

His early childhood was spent mostly in New Canaan, Connecticut until his father took a

job working in, what would become, the New York City Subways prior to WWII. This new phase

resulted in the family moving to 1030, 215th Street in the Bronx, New York City. It was here when

Lou would catch the train and walk over the bridge to work as a Powder Carrier at what would

later become Randalls Island, NY.

Once Lou joined the Army, he was quickly trained in warfare in several of the North

Carolina bases where he was trained in the Signal Corps, later providing the capability of

communications from the front line on the battlefields to headquarters.

After the war Lou returned home, and opted out of returning to school under the newly

established GI Bill. He credits three-and-a-half years of combat, as making it unlikely that he

would be able to return to a classroom coupled with the economics of the time and his need to

work to make an income. As a result he utilized the 52:$20 program which provided him twenty

dollars per week for fifty-two weeks upon end of military service.

While collecting from the 52:$20 program he volunteered to assist a mechanic at a gas

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station so he could learn how to work on cars and transmissions. He never charged the mechanic,

he said, “I get enough from the government. The mechanic had a wife and two kids, I was not

about to take away from his family.”

Soon thereafter a factory owner asked the mechanic if he could hire Lou. Which led to his

employment at a tape factory in Westchester country whereby Lou would be introduced to

nutrition and healthy living via the radio broadcast of Dr. Carlton Fredericks. These broadcast on

nutrition Lou credits to his long and healthy life as a bachelor.

As Lou entered into his thirties he purchased property near Putnam Lake in Connecticut,

on the New York border where he invested his mid-life years building homes and keeping busy

maintaining the property he has now lived at for over sixty years.

Lou never married or had children, a phenomenon he credits to lack of employment and

housing opportunities for families during that time coupled with a lack of social outlets where he

chose to reside. Instead, Lou chose to work while maintaining total independence from the

responsibilities and liabilities of marriage and parenthood, which he also credits to his health at an

older age.

Critical Theoretical Analysis & Critique

Erikson’s Eight Stages of Man

Erik Erikson’s theories of human development, also known as the Eight Ages of Man, are

within the framework of the Freudian mainstream. However, Erikson went further and

reformulated components of psychoanalysis to include psychosocial changes between adolescence

and old age with less emphasis on Freud’s psychosexual elements (Robbins, Chatterjeem &

Canda, 2011; Berzoff, Flanagan & Hertz, 2011).

Erikson’s contributions to understanding human development throughout the life-cycle

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have incorporated greater understanding of the interconnectedness of culture, class, ethnicity, race

and historical oppression while also expanding the concept that health and psychopathology are

derived from the nuclear family. He further went on to identify the importance of strengths and

impingements from the social environment (Berzoff et al., 2011).

Critiques of Erikson. Erikson has however been faulted for gender biases in his theory

of life cycle development. Such biases arguably credited to his embeddedness in his moment in

sociohistorical time (Berzoff et al., 2011 & Miller, 1984). Additionally, Postmodernist theorists

argue whether or not linear and hierarchal models of development are of value while also

questioning the validity of a continuous construct like “the self and “Identity” by asking whether

or not a core self truly exists or are we perhaps multiples “selves” that continue to develop in the

contexts in which we grow, work and live (Berzoff et al., 2011; Miller, 1993, & Gergan 1991).

Despite the critiques, Erikson’s life-cycle model of ego development continues to

demonstrate its value for psychodynamic practitioners (Berzoff et al., 2011), and students looking

to implement it as a tool for understanding human development through the life-cycle.

Looking through the prism of Lou’s identity formation according to Erikson requires a

path along the life-cycle stages of ego development starting at Stage One, infancy through Stage

Eight, late adulthood. This work will explore the final stage Erikson refers to as “Late

Adulthood”, occurring after the age of 50 years, whereby the psychological crisis of “Integrity vs.

Despair” takes place (Robbins et al., 2011 & Berzoff et al., 2011).

Stage 8. Integrity Versus Despair. Erickson classifies this as a period of retrospective

reflection about one’s own life and acceptance of the eventual end of life (Robbins et al., 2011).

When such acceptance of one’s past choices occurs, an older adult finds meaning and contentment

in the course and choices of life taken. As a result, a sense of integrity is achieved and when this

lasting ego quality emerges, the result is wisdom. (Robbins et al., 2011 & Berzoff et al., 2011).

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However, unsuccessful resolution of this stage often results in a sense of despair, which is often

times exhibited as disgust and anger towards external sources, and serves as an indication of self-

contempt (Robbins et al., 2011).

Mr. Russo demonstrates a very strong sense of pride in his life accomplishments. He is a

proud surviving veteran of World War II, subscribed to healthy nutritional habits at an early age,

worked hard throughout his entire life, built homes, provided money for his family while serving

in the war and today he is a champion for the elderly who have been exploited through the

Connecticut probate court system.

In watching his interview video he can be observed shifting from dispositions of

happiness, to the contemplation of all of his life losses and sacrifices. However, there is one

certainty that the observer will clearly note. He is always happy, even when he recalls the worst of

his life. He always finds humor and he unabatingly demonstrates the power of resilience when

reflecting upon the war, the loss of his brother, the depression, and even his late life struggles with

the probate courts, lawyers, judges, and nursing homes.

What we don’t observe when talking with Lou is disgust, anger or self-contempt. Quite the

contrary in fact, Lou is the embodiment of empowerment and finding meaning and contentment in

his life choices. Erikson might have used Lou himself as a demonstration of how his retrospective

reflection of his life has clearly resulted in a sense of integrity and the emergence of wisdom.

Maslow’s Theory of Self-Actualization and Self -Transcendence

Maslow’s theories stem from transpersonal and humanistic theories and are based upon

two fundamental concepts: self-actualization and self-transcendence, which Maslow theorizes

occurs along a pyramidal hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1968, 1969, 1970a, 1970b).

Self-actualization. Means there is a natural inherent tendency of people to express their

innate potentials for love, creativity, and spirituality (Maslow, 1968, 1969, 1970a, 1970b). The

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requirements for self-actualization to occur successfully include: a nurturing environment,

sufficient sustenance, social support, and a commitment to growth (Robbins et al., 2011).

One analogy used to effectively illustrate self-actualization is that of the acorn seed which

already has within it the potential to grow into a full oak tree, yet for the true potential of the

acorn to be realized it requires sunlight, water, nutrient and other environmental support (Robbins

et al., 2011).

Therefore self-actualization is the natural emergence and expansive upward growth of our

inborn potentials of love and connectedness with others. As this occurs to its fullest potential it

carries one beyond self-preoccupation, narcissism, and finally ego-focused, self-identity at which

point this sense of self-actualization becomes self-transcendence (Robbins et al., 2011).

Self-transcendence. Is then a completion and fulfillment of the self in communion with

other beings and the Ground of Being, which is the ultimate and sacred being or reality, that some

call God (Robbins et al., 2011). This developmental unfolding from self-actualization to self-

transcendence starts out at birth with a focus on basic survival proceeding through Maslow’s

theoretical hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1968, 1969, 1970a, 1970b).

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Beginning with basic psychological and survival needs, Maslow’s Hierarchy then

continues to the needs of belonging and love, esteem needs, self-actualization needs such as

altruistic love, beauty, creativity and justice until peak experiences and unitive consciousness

results in the needs of self-transcendence.

With an initial focus on subsistence needs directed towards survival, Maslow then

identifies the importance of belonging, security, and a sense of being loved as equally crucial.

Additionally, it is noted that material wealth, social status, nor power result in an

individual’s self actualization (Maslow, 1968). Maslow described the seemingly bottomless hole

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inside of some that can never be filled by a constant desire to acquire power and possessions.

Further describing them as being oriented towards deficiency-cognition and motivation, which

often results in the dominating and damaging of other people or restricting their access to

resources (Maslow, 1968).

Instead, Maslow idealized that people should be living with a sense of inherent personal

dignity, self-love, worth, and a loving acceptance of others for their own inherent dignity and

worth. This concept Maslow calls being-cognition and motivation, further describing the

phenomenon as a great spiritual treasure that leads to self-transcendence (Maslow, 1969, p.3).

Given Lou’s positive disposition it is then probable to determine that he has not only

achieved being-cognition and motivation, but further that he is indulging his later years in a free

state of self-transcendence.

Louis Russo demonstrated an utter assurance towards self-actualization as a young child

growing up during the Great Depression, as a worker and provider for his family, as a warrior on

the battlefields of WWII, following combat as he entered the work force and volunteered to help

others struggling while never seeking more money, power or materiality than he needed. His

general disposition on life is one of equity and fairness to his fellow man and women regardless of

race, religion, personal beliefs, physical malformations or illness. These are all facets of his

character he directly credits to his religious and familial upbringing coupled with the tremendous

love and support he received from both parents.

Yet as Maslow noted, Lou’s natural growth potential later on in life was stifled by the

oppressive social circumstance and detrimental life conditions he was forced to endure at the age

of ninety-five through both the nursing home and the probate courts. However, his resilience to

endure the alleged abuse and neglect can be best explained by exploring Maslow’s three kinds of

transpersonal experiences: peak experience, nadir experience, and the plateau experience (Maslow

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1970a, 1970b, 1971 & Robbins et al., 2011).

Peak Experience. Is relatively brief, intense or shocking, but carries with it the challenge

of integrating the experience into regular life. Without successful integration these experiences

may be merely “thrills” or “highs” without lasting benefits. Other types of peak experiences

include crisis-provoking life disruptions that do not lead to growth (Robbins et al., 2011), such as

Lou’s late life collision with the probate court and resultantly the nursing home that removed Lou

from his natural environment while perceivably robbing him of his dignity.

Nadir Experience. An intense encounter with death, medical emergencies, and

psychological traumas that facilitate an opening to transpersonal awareness by breaking the usual

sense of identity and world-view (Robbins et al., 2011). Lou’s life is a chronology of such

experiences. As a child during the Great Depression, again as a soldier in war, and again as a

ninety-five year old alleged victim of the probate court and a nursing home. In each of these

intense encounters Lou details how they changed his overall world-view: First, as a child he was

aware of the importance of the family unit for survival by witnessing the suffering of those who

did not have similar family based supports in place while benefiting from his parents and siblings;

Secondly, as a Soldier in combat losing over two-dozen friends while simultaneously learning of

the death of his brother paved a new perception and acceptance of both life and death which

fostered a strong sense of resilience that later provided the strength to endure the detailed

experiences of his self-described imprisonment within the State probate court and nursing home

systems. It is as though each of these experiences emboldened, bolstered and prepared his psyche

for the next experience.

Plateau Experience. Involves a relatively calm, serene, and poignant sense of happiness

and enjoyment which is typically achieved as people are able to integrate the transpersonal

insights of peak, nadir, and plateau experiences into daily life such that life is regularly

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experienced on a “high plateau” of significance, wonder and beauty (Maslow, 1970a). In

interviewing Lou what became clear, is that despite his late life hardships, he has manifested

precisely the kind, calm, and serenity Maslow describes with an absolutely poignant sense of

happiness and enjoyment (Gaita, 2016)

Geriotranscendance Theory

Gerotranscendence is based on previous studies of elders (aged 50’s-90’s) who used the

aging process as a positive opportunity to grow beyond typical materialistic, rational, pragmatic,

and ego-focused perspectives of adulthood (Binstock, 2006; Tornstam, 2005; Tornstam &

Tornqcist, 2000), occurring within the multiple dimensions of: Cosmic, Self, and Social.

Cosmic Dimension. Herein, there is an increased sense of attachment to the

interconnectedness of life across generations. Fear of death disappears, a profound appreciation of

nature and ordinary events grows, and the mystery of life is appreciated (Robbins et al., 2011). In

speaking with Lou, it is as though he has existed within this dimension since his mid-life years but

certainly from the age of fifty forward. Since serving in WWII, Lou describes an almost

comfortable acceptance of death as matter-of-factly as life itself. He has a profound love of

nature, gardening, and a connectedness to prior generations as well as today’s generation.

Self-Dimension. As we garner the ability to care for our bodies without being obsessed

with its changes, a more balanced awareness of one’s good and bad aspects occurs along with a

decreased self-centeredness while our greater sense of altruism and personal wholeness manifest

(Robbins et al., 2011).

Lou clearly navigates this dimension, as his entire life has been one example after the

other of personal sacrifice, altruistic deeds, and an utter absence of self-centeredness as early as

his grade school days while learning and working to support the family; throughout the War;

following his post World War II days working at the gas station for free; and today as a volunteer

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ninety-seven year old advocate.

Social & Personal Relationship Dimension. Within this dimension occurs a decrease of

interest in superficial relationships, and increasing appreciation for solitude and an eagerness to

free oneself from social conventions and roles. Additionally, one enjoys freedom from desire for

excessive wealth and possessions while taking on a more nonjudgmental and tolerant broad-

mindedness (Robbins et al., 2011).

Lou is firmly in existence within this dimension. Early on in life was Lou resigned to

being a bachelor and not having a family. He has maintained this sense of solitude for over fifty

years without regret. Having always lived off of what he needed rather than what he wanted, Lou

was never one to express want for either wealth or possessions. In fact, his entire life has been

lived within the realm of humility coupled with a natural nonjudgmental and tolerant

broadmindedness. It’s as though gerotranscendence theory was formulated based upon Lou’s

interview itself.

Social Issue

Elder Empowerment

Up until Lou’s ninety-fifth year of life he endured, if not flourished. He did so during

arguably the most turbulent period of American history, which included two World Wars, a global

influenza epidemic, the Great Depression and a Polio epidemic which claimed the life of one of

his eight brothers. Ironically, the primary issue and historical event which impacted his life did

not occur then, but rather begins at age 95 when he is involuntarily conserved by the Probate

Court system coupled with the bureaucracy of the Medicaid system.

Being single and having no children or family coupled with Lou’s later age in today’s

American self-serving climate resulted in both Lou’s exploitation by his probate court appointed

conservator, and his alleged neglect and abuse suffered while imprisoned in a nursing home for

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seventeen months.

The result was the draining of his life savings, theft of his personal possessions, a debt to a

nursing home of over $108,000, two civil law suits, over $75,000 in probate attorney and

fiduciary fees that are arguably grossly excessive and nearly the loss of his home by way of an

illegal reverse mortgage attempt.

What would’ve led to the mental incapacitation or insanity of many people in his situation

did not. Instead, Lou did as he has his entire life. He thought, he fought, and he won!

Through his collaboration with elected officials and veterans agencies he was able to not

only escape his confines, but was also able to broaden public awareness on his abuse through via

a dozen front page newspaper articles as well as multiple major news network stories covering his

fight as well as.

The result was an outpouring of support, over $50,000 in donated repairs and

modifications to his home since his return. His case garnered the attention of elected State and

Federal officials that has led to legislative action and changes in Connecticut law specific to

probate and civil court rules. His efforts have directly empowered older adults with both a voice

and the ability to fight back.

As a direct result of Lou’s efforts he was able to legally persuade the nursing home to drop

their lawsuit specific to his alleged debt, obtained an order from the probate judge to have the first

conservator pay him back, and has an ongoing criminal investigation against the first court

appointed conservator.

Personal Reflection

I first met Lou at the nursing home in October, 2014 following a phone call from our local

State Representative requesting our agency’s advocacy assistance for a WWII veteran that was

caught up in an involuntary conservatorship under the CT Probate Court. I was informed that his

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court appointed conservator had been absent and not in compliance with probate rules and that he

had illegally rented out Lou’s house without legal authorization to do so.

At which time I conducted our agencies first intake interview (Gaita, 2014), to garner a

better understanding and to get the information directly from Lou. It was at this time Lou realized

he had an ally and he was very ready to fight for both justice and his personal dignity. I promised

him we would, and we did.

By the time of this interview, (March 2016) Lou and I had been working together for over

a year-and-a-half on his probate and nursing home related challenges. As a result, Lou and I have

developed a very strong and trusting friendship whereby I was able to conduct this interview in a

fully open and trusting environment in his home. My method was to video-record the entire

interview and upload it to YouTube for future use and distribution per Lou’s direct request (Gaita,

2016a; Gaita, 2016b). He specifically requested that the video, and paper be shared with the

public and refused to maintain confidentiality. The result was over five hours of video collected

over two multi-hour interviews.

By the time we discussed the interview project I had already garnered a clear sense of who

Louis Russo was and a little about his life. But what I had not expected was the depth and breadth

of clarity he was about to bring to his life chronology since 1918. His recall specific to events that

occurred between 1920-1975 was shockingly vivid and full of new morsels of information and

history that I was never taught in the classrooms nor had such information been published in any

of our history books. For example, when discussing the Soviet launch of the Sputnik Satellite,

Lou informed me, “America was very concerned that they (Soviets) had developed a secret

weapon that could be used against us from outer space”. Multiple examples of his ability to recall

events occur throughout the interview. Another example was when he discussed the apparent

change in morality in the U.S. following the publication of the first Playboy edition. He goes on to

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discuss the Supreme Court case surrounding the birth of Playboy.

From a clinical perspective I was intrigued and equally impressed by the attention to detail

he paid during his recall of our national chronology. His memory and cognitions are in tact, and

his character exudes positivity and charisma unlike anyone I’ve ever met at his age.

I was not expecting him to recall as many events, but he did so, and with magnificent

clarity; even taking the time to correct me when I misplaced an event with a date.

Interviews such as this provide a very real and palatable understanding of the importance

of clinical practice whereby the client sets the tempo of information sharing, from their own

person-in-environment perspective thus allowing a more accurate illustration of how the client

self-determined the course of his life.

My time with Mr. Russo has been a blessing. Not because of anything I have done for

him, but for all that he has done and taught me just by trusting me enough to tell his story, in his

words and through his perspectives through time.

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References:

Berzoff, J., Flanagan, L.M., & Hertz, P. (2011). Inside out and outside in: Psychodynamic

clinical theory and psychopathology in contemporary multicultural contexts (3rd

ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Binstock, R.H. (2006). Later life and the farther reaches of human nature. The

Gereontologist, 45(5), 695-698.

Gaita, D.R., (2014). Operation Vet Fit advocacy intake interview of Louis J. Russo.

YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLTNrcN-2A8

Gaita, D.R., (2016a). Louis Russo life story interview part 1. YouTube. Retrieved from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN_bJiLkhJ0

Gaita, D.R., (2016b). Louis Russo life story interview part 1. YouTube. Retrieved from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MoAqhP_xaU

Gergan, K.J. (1991). The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life. New York:

Basic Books.

Maslow, A.H. (1968). Towards a psychology of being (2nd ed.). New York: D. Van Nostrand.

Maslow, A.H. (1969). The farther reaches of human nature. Journal of Transpersonal

Psychology, 1(1), 1-9.

Maslow, A.H. (1970a). Religions, values and peak experiences. New York: Viking.

Maslow, A.H. (1970b). Motivation and personality (2nd ed.). New York: Harper & Row

Publishers.

Maslow, A.H. (1971). The farther reaches of human nature. New York: Harper & Row

Publishers.

Miller, J.B. (1984). The development of women’s sense of self. In Essential Papers in the

Phschology of Women, ed. C. Zanardi. New York: New York University Press

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN_bJiLkhJ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLTNrcN-2A8


Mitchell, S.J. (1993). Hope and Dread in Psychoanalysis. New York: Basic Books.

Robbins, S. P., Chatterjee, P., & Canda, E. R. (2011). Contemporary human behavior theory: A

critical perspective for social work (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Tornstam, L. (2005). Gerotranscendence: A developmental theory of positive aging. New York:

Springer Publishing Company.

Tornstam, L., & Tornqvist, M. (2000). Nursing Staff’s interpretations of “gerotranscendence

behavior” in the elderly. Journal of Aging and Identity, 5(1), 15-29.

___________________________________________________________________________

Waiver of Confidentiality

I Louis J. Russo do hereby waive my confidentiality specific to this interview, written

paper, and video obtained from and published here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=VN_bJiLkhJ0 & and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MoAqhP_xaU. By

Daniel R. Gaita. I fully authorize the open, transparent and public sharing of my life story

for the enjoyment and benefit of our nation, the world and future generations. Due to my

physical injuries and thus inability to sign by way of a writing instrument, I hereby

provide my oral permission as given by me, Louis J. Russo, in video 1 at :30 and again in

video 2 at :30.

Respectfully Submitted,

Louis J. Russo.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN_bJiLkhJ0&

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN_bJiLkhJ0&

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