ST Thomas University Mexican American Family Case Study Discussion Mr. Perez is a 76-year-old Mexican American who was recently diagnosed with a slow heart

ST Thomas University Mexican American Family Case Study Discussion Mr. Perez is a 76-year-old Mexican American who was recently diagnosed with a slow heartbeat requiring an implanted pacemaker. Mr. Perez has been married for 51 years and has 6 adult children (three daughters aged 50, 48, and 42; three sons aged 47, 45, and 36), 11 grandchildren; and 2 great grandchildren. The youngest boy lives three houses down from Mr. and Mrs. Perez. The other children, except the second-oldest daughter, live within 3 to 10 miles from their parents. The second-oldest daughter is a registered nurse and lives out of state. All members of the family except for Mr. Perez were born in the United States. He was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States at the age of 18 in order to work and send money back to the family in Mexico. Mr. Perez has returned to Mexico throughout the years to visit and has lived in Texas ever since. He is retired from work in a machine shop.

Mr. Perez has one living older brother who lives within 5 miles. All members of the family speak Spanish and English fluently. The Perez family is Catholic, as evidenced by the religious items hanging on the wall and prayer books and rosary on the coffee table. Statues of St. Jude and Our Lady of Guadalupe are on the living room table. Mr. and Mrs. Perez have made many mandas (bequests) to pray for the health of the family, including one to thank God for the healthy birth of all the children, especially after the doctor had discouraged them from having any more children after the complicated birth of their first child. The family attends Mass together every Sunday morning and then meets for breakfast chorizo at a local restaurant frequented by many of their church’s other parishioner families. Mr. Perez believes his health and the health of his family are in the hands of God.

The Perez family lives in a modest four-bedroom ranch home that they bought 22 years ago. The home is in a predominantly Mexican American neighborhood located in the La Loma section of town. Mr. and Mrs. Perez are active in the church and neighborhood community. The Perez home is usually occupied by many people and has always been the gathering place for the family. During his years of employment, Mr. Perez was the sole provider for the family and now receives social security checks and a pension. Mrs. Perez is also retired and receives a small pension for a short work period as a teacher’s aide. Mr. and Mrs. Perez count on their nurse daughter to guide them and advise on their health care.

Mr. Perez visits a curandero for medicinal folk remedies. Mrs. Perez is the provider of spiritual, physical, and emotional care for the family. In addition, their nurse daughter is always present during any major surgeries or procedures. Mrs. Perez and her daughter the nurse will be caring for Mr. Perez during his procedure for a pacemaker.

Explain the significance of family and kinship for the Perez family.
Describe the importance of religion and God for the Perez family.
Identify two stereotypes about Mexican Americans that were dispelled in this case with the Perez family.
What is the role of Mrs. Perez in this family?

Submission Instructions:

Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted and cited in current APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources. Your initial post is worth 8 points.
You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending, refuting/correcting, or adding additional nuance to their posts. Your reply posts are worth 2 points (1 point per response.)
All replies must be constructive and use literature where possible.

Grading Rubric

Your assignment will be graded according to the grading rubric.

Discussion Rubric
Criteria Ratings Points

Identification of Main Issues, Problems, and Concepts

5 points
Distinguished

Identify and demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the issues, problems, and concepts.

4 points
Excellent

Identifies and demonstrate an accomplished understanding of most of issues, problems, and concepts.

2 points
Fair

Identifies and demonstrate an acceptable understanding of most of issues, problems, and concepts.

1 points
Poor

Identifies and demonstrate an unacceptable understanding of most of issues, problems, and concepts.

5 points

Use of Citations, Writing Mechanics and APA Formatting Guidelines

3 points
Distinguished

Effectively uses the literature and other resources to inform their work. Exceptional use of citations and extended referencing. High level of APA precision and free of grammar and spelling errors.

2 points
Excellent

Effectively uses the literature and other resources to inform their work. Moderate use of citations and extended referencing. Moderate level of APA precision and free of grammar and spelling errors.

1 point
Fair

Ineffectively uses the literature and other resources to inform their work. Moderate use of citations and extended referencing. APA style and writing mechanics need more precision and attention to detail.

0 point
Poor

Ineffectively uses the literature and other resources to inform their work. An unacceptable use of citations and extended referencing. APA style and writing mechanics need serious attention.

3 points
Response to Posts of Peers

2 points
Distinguished

Student constructively responded to two other posts and either extended, expanded or provided a rebuttal to each.

1 points
Fair

Student constructively responded to one other post and either extended, expanded or provided a rebuttal.

0 point
Poor

Student provided no response to a peer’s post.

2 points