Alzheimer's

F. Mooney Sharon

Description

The unthinkable has become a day-to-day reality: your loved one has Alzheimer's disease. How can you cope and where can you turn for help and information? This new edition of Alzheimer's has been updated to cover the most recent developments in our knowledge of this heartrending disease. Drawing on her professional and personal background in caring for people suffering from Alzheimer's, the author offers practical, intelligent advice for caregivers searching for hope.

Informations

• Publié par: Lion Hudson
• Date de parution: 03 janvier 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780745957531
• Langue: English

Extrait

Copyright © 2008 Sharon Fish Mooney
This edition copyright © 2008 Lion Hudson
The right of Sharon Fish Mooney to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by Lion Books an imprint of Lion Hudson plc Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road, Oxford OX2 8DR, England www.lionhudson.com/lion ISBN 978 0 7459 5289 5 e-ISBN 978 0 7459 5753 1
First (US) edition 1990 First (UK) edition 1991 First electronic edition 2012
Acknowledgements pp. 9, 17, 212 Scripture quotations taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, © 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
pp. 82, 162 Scripture quotations taken from Today’s English Version (The Good News Bible), © 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992 by the American Bible Society. Used by permission.
pp. 128, 184 Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan and Hodder & Stoughton Limited. All rights reserved. The ‘NIV’ and ‘New International Version’ trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society. UK trademark number 1448790.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Printed and bound in Wales by Creative Print and Design
‘The author speaks with authority on one of the toughest assignments anyone can be asked to do – care for a loved one who has Alzheimer’s disease. Her loving treatment of the problem makes the book very special.’
 
GRANGER WESTBERG, AUTHOR OF GOOD GRIEF
 
‘Both informative and practical… to be commended for her sensitivity and thoroughness.’
 
JOSEPH CARDINAL BERNARDIN, ARCHBISHOP OF CHICAGO, CARER TO HIS MOTHER
‘An honest and loving book written by a person who is very familiar… with the dilemmas and challenges facing sufferers, carers and their families.’
 
DR PENNY STANWAY, DOCTOR, JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR OF THE NATURAL GUIDE TO WOMEN’S HEALTH
SHARON FISH MOONEY teaches nursing research and gerontology on-line at Indiana Wesleyan University and Regis University, Denver, Colorado, USA. She has a PhD from the University of Rochester in New York and has taught courses on Parish Nursing at McMaster Divinity College, Canada. Sharon co-authored a classic nursing textbook on spiritual care and is a freelance writer and conference speaker. The experiences of caring for her own mother through Alzheimer’s and her nursing experience on special care units for older people with dementia have greatly informed this book.
To LaVonne Neff and Morag Reeve, who helped birth this book in the US and the UK, and to all those who cared and shared their lives with me.
Acknowledgements
My hope for all who read this book is that you will be encouraged. You are not alone as you reach out to care for your loved ones.
I am deeply grateful to Jack Fisher, Kathleen Fisher Poling, Marian Gierasch and Mary Butts, four carers who formed the original Alzheimer’s support group in Oneonta, New York, USA, and who faithfully kept the candle burning in monthly meetings for those who needed help and encouragement.
Special thanks to Mary Johnson, who read the original manuscript, and to the dozens of carers who were willing to share their experiences for others to learn from, including me. To protect carers’ privacy, no names are included and, in some instances, certain identifying details have been changed at their request. Scenarios that introduce various chapters weave together all our stories, our fears, our hopes, our feelings. The people described could well be your mother or father, husband or wife, sister or brother, son or daughter.
I want to thank Dr Raymond Vickers, M.D., who was medical director of the New York State Veterans’ Home, Oxford, New York; he read and edited the original manuscript with a physician’s eye. Special thanks also to his wife, Barbara, who gave generously of her time and talents to encourage carers for many years in a variety of settings.
Thank you to the following people who lovingly cared for my mother in our home or theirs over the years: Sylvia Davisson, Pat Gifford, Janet Roseboom, Bunny Rodriquez, Kim Lund, Carol Rose, Katie Jenison and Debbie Derry. Thanks to the staff at Stamford Nursing Home in Stamford, New York, who cared for my mother as if she were their mother during the final days of her life. And thank you to the staff and friends of Inter County Home Care, who were always there when I needed them.
I would also like to acknowledge the special care unit at Kirkhaven, Rochester, New York, where I worked; the Rochester, New York, chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association; and Dr Eric G. Tangalos, Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rochester, Minnesota, for their helpful assistance.
Special thanks to the following for a number of reasons: Dr Steven Szebenyi and Dr Donald Pollock from Bassett Hospital, Cooperstown, New York, who helped me over the years with medical management; Emalene Shepherd of the Writer’s Digest School, who watered a vision that began with a carers’ column; and Morag Reeve and Kate Kirkpatrick, editors at Lion Hudson, who wanted to keep this book in print.
I especially want to acknowledge and thank Susan Cuthbert, my editor at Lion who originally anglicized this book, incorporating information about the British health-care system, and Jan Dewing from the UK Wandering Network for her valuable updated information for this current edition. My final thanks go to the many friends who prayed for and encouraged me and to my husband Scott and stepson Richard, who show constant care for me.
I am grateful.
 
SHARON FISH MOONEY
 
 
Acknowledgements from the UK editor
With grateful thanks to Clive Evers for the benefit of his special knowledge. Also to Mrs Joan King and the Oxfordshire Branch of the Alzheimer’s Society, to my friends Janet Hathaway, Mari-an Watkins, Janet Baraclough, Sarah Moore, Bridget Banks and Dr Peter Garside, and to my mother-in-law Mrs Hazel Cuthbert, for their help with the finer details of the ‘anglicization’. It has been much appreciated, though of course responsibility for any deficiencies rests firmly with me.
 
SUSAN CUTHBERT
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Epigraph
About the Author
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Part One: Something Has Gone Wrong
1. Bruised Reeds and Dimly Burning Wicks
Alzheimer’s: A Family Affair
Some Facts About Alzheimer’s
2. Searching for the Truth
Historical Highlights
Maybe It’s Not Alzheimer’s
Don’t Neglect the Lab Tests
The Mind Matters
Having Your Head Examined
3. Facing the Facts
Blowing Away the Myths
The Aluminium Question
Don’t Deny the Decline
Six Reasons to Face the Facts
4. What’s Happening Upstairs?
What Goes Wrong?
Seeing the Symptoms
Facing the Second Stage
Part Two: Caring for Your Loved One
5. When Memory Starts to Fade
The Faces of Memory Loss
Simple Memory Joggers
Maintaining People Awareness
Thingamajigs and Thingamabobs
Breaking Through the Walls
6. Emotional Fireworks
Triggers for Catastrophic Reactions
What to Do and What to Avoid
Relying on Rituals
7. Always on the Move
Sundowning
Prone to Wander
Leaving Home
8. Baffling Behaviours
Hoarding
Managing Mealtimes
Losing Control
Sexual Disinhibitions
9. The Struggle for Safety
Taking Away the Car Keys
Home Safety
Educate Yourself and Be Prepared
When the Emergency is You
Watching Over Your Loved One
Part Three: Caring for Yourself
10. People Who Help
Support Groups
Friends and Relations
Little Ones
11. Carer Support Systems
Home Care
Adult Day Centres
Sheltered Housing
Residential and Nursing Homes
Extended Care Facilities
Other Alternatives
Keep Searching
12. Our Tangled Emotions
Fears and Anxieties
The Guilt Trip
Good News
13. Hot But Not Burned Up
Anger at God
Anger at Others
Anger at Alzheimer’s
14. Down But Not Out
Facing Depression
Role-reversals
Searching for the Light
Maintaining Physical Fitness
Keeping Mentally and Emotionally Balanced
Seeking Spiritual Support
Finding Joy in the Wilderness
Part Four: Saying Goodbye
15. The Difficult Decisions
Knowing When to Give Up Caring at Home
What Are the Options?
Looking for a Long-term Care Facility
Additional Criteria and Resources
How Do I Pay the Bills?
Making That Difficult Decision
Continuing to Care
Continuing-care Issues
The Post-mortem and After
Consenting to a Post-mortem Brain Autopsy
Making Medical Arrangements
Knowing the Truth
16. Blowing Out the Candle
Caring for the Dying
Emotional and Spiritual Support
Brightly Burning Wicks
Appendix A: Evaluating Long-term Care Options
Appendix B: Other Dementias and Related Disorders
Appendix C: Research and Medications
Appendix D: Useful Organizations and Resources
Notes
Index
PART ONE
Something Has Gone Wrong
A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.
THE BOOK OF ISAIAH
Chapter One
Bruised Reeds and Dimly Burning Wicks
Muriel sat down at the kitchen table and slowly buttered her toast. Fifteen minutes of silence, twenty if she was lucky. Quiet time alone to enjoy the toast, a cup of coffee, and a quick read through the morning paper before the real work began: getting her mother up, washed, fed, toileted, walked and dressed for the day. And then, later in the morning, several loads of laundry including her mo