At one point, Trauten went through a fake diagnosis, used a walker and wore the tubing that is usually hooked up to an oxygen tank, serving to bring a whole new understanding to her experience.

"I got to select my condition. A lot of older adults have Congestive Heart Failure and COPD. I couldn't know what it was really like, and I didn't want something that had so many symptoms. I wanted something that I could kind of get a feel for what it was about," Trauten said.

Her breathing tubes were not attached to any sort of oxygen tank, and in fact, the cord was usually tied around her belt loops. However, when people from outside the resident community came into the building, the looks she drew from them was perhaps one of the most powerful aspects of her experience.

"The reaction in their eyes was nothing but pity. They weren't looking down to see if there was a tank or anything. Is that the way that nursing home residents get looked at? Do other residents have to deal with that pity in their eyes?" Trauten asked.

"There really was no typical day for me. One thing that came out of the experience is the way I thought about time. My days were marked by meals and shift changes. I didn't pay much attention to the clock like I do all the time here. I spent a lot of time just listening and hanging out with residents," she said.