Description
“Is it dementia or Alzheimer’s?”
Or is it simply memory loss as we age? One of the first questions we ask when elderly folks begin to show cognitive impairment.
If you are one of over 44 million caregivers in the world, you may be searching for information to assist and guide you through the course of your loved one’s illness and the different Alzheimer’s stages.
Robin Gail provides a personal look from a family caregiver perspective inside the daunting reality of the onset of dementia and progression into its most common form, Alzheimer’s disease. Other forms include frontotemporal dementia and Lewy body dementia as well as vascular dementia.
Those suffering with dementia and the ones caring for them CAN improve their quality of life. It is possible. This informative book will show you how.
Dementia or Alzheimer’s? is chockful of helpful tips and solutions caregivers will find invaluable.It offers support and encouragement for those who are caring for a loved one. You will discover ways to face and navigate the issues and difficult decisions you may confront on a daily basis. You will find suggestions and strategies to help maintain your own personal life, avoid caregiver depression, manage your own stress and fatigue and avoid burnout as you care for your loved one.
Dementia or Alzheimer’s?
delves into the importance of entering your loved one’s new reality and providing them with compassionate care and unconditional love as you honor their life. You will find there can be unexpected moments of joy, humor, and countless wonderful memories made as you go through this journey.
You will learn:
- How to deal with your suspicion and realization that your loved one may have some form of dementia
- How to accept that they are ill
- Important planning efforts to be undertaken, both financially and legally
- The straightforward approach of ideas and methods used that assisted Robin Gail and her husband in their quest to provide the best quality of life for her beloved mother
- Practical ways to make yours and your loved one’s life as normal as possible as you are faced with daily challenges such as aggressive or disruptive behavior, wandering (Sundowner’s Syndrome)
- Ways to keep from losing yourself and your life (as you know it) while caring for an ill loved one
- How to keep yourself healthy and relieve your stress and emotional strain, and ways to manage the immense daily challenges of being a family caregiver
- Ways to keep yourself resilient in the ever-changing, challenging behaviors of people with dementia/Alzheimer’s
- How to make informed choices for the different scenarios this disease presents and how to be sure they are the smartest choices available
- Various options you may have for a higher level of care, when needed, and different types of housing for your loved one
- The importance of celebrating their life
- Valuable resources listed at the end of this book
Robin Gail has put her insights and practical suggestions and solutions for home care into this informative book designed to inspire and uplift caregivers as they struggle through the complexities of dementia.
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Dr E V Estacio –
This book is a gem. Informative, heartfelt and human. Robin Gail draws upon her mother’s inspirational story and shares valuable and practical advice so others can learn from their experience. This book can really help families who go through the challenges of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. Highly recommended.
Stephanie D Smith –
They say Texas women are tough, and Helen is no exception. But the one fight Helen couldn’t win, despite all the love and support of a caring family, was her battle with Alzheimer’s. Daughter Robin Gail writes from the heart as she chronicles the early years, watching her mother move from simple forgetfulness they thought was dementia to full blown Alzheimer’s.
The first half of this beautiful book is part memoir, part catharsis as the author tells us about Helen’s life and how this horrible disease stole her mother from her. As the book progresses, she shares honest and practical methods for moving through the various stages of Alzheimer’s. There are tips on caring for your loved one, while recognizing that stress plays a role in developing Alzheimer’s or dementia so it’s important to care for the caregiver as well. She talks about choosing the right home health solutions and how to decide if a care facility is best.
Finally, she stresses the importance of celebrating the life of your loved one once they are gone, so that the terrible memories of those final months and years don’t cloud your memory of the many wonderful years you had before the disease took hold.
This beautiful love story is also a practical guide that is sure to uplift and inspires anyone caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
Diamonds –
Kind of halfway this book; started reading due to a family member’s similar condition. It contains a personal account of dealing with an ailing mother, with lots of practical advice as well as heartfelt psychological/emotional reminders, as this process can be not only desastrous to the person involved , but also for those around him/her. Throughout the account and story, the author reminds us that the goal was to keep her mother at home as long as possible, but that in order to do that, one needs to overcome hundreds if not thousands of little obstacles, by being practical. She managed to keep her at home only for a certain amount of time, after which they brought her to their own home, intensifying the task of care-giving. Through it all, she reminds us consistently that the person/patient involved is a victim and not the cause of the hardship, and that the patient still above all appreciates human contact, touch, emotions, and simple moments, despite the fact that the ‘functions’ of the body are slowly giving up on her.
Maria –
It was easy to understand and helpful suggestions to help me understand the problem my father has.
Dee Arr –
Seldom do you find a book like author Robin Gail’s. Part history, part reference, and it all flows together smoothly. Though it is a short book, there are many passages that will help to educate, console, or give encouragement.
Ms. Gail shares her pain and love for her mother, and for those of us who have experienced similar experiences, it is easy to empathize with the challenges the author faced on a daily basis. Ms. Gail details her emotions and gives an honest accounting of the actions she took, even when she later realized they might have been counter-productive. It is this courage to explain and help others that helps place this book in a class by itself.
While there are many suggestions and references for others to use, the book never falls into a dull recounting of lists of books or items to pursue. Instead, as Ms. Gail recounts her memories, she shares the helpful things she found that aided her mother during what can be a difficult time for everyone. This loving memoir is a touching reminder to all of us that even though it can be painful watching a loved one go through this difficult time, there are rewards in helping them in whatever way we are able. Five stars.
Nancy Mcmillen –
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Suresh Subramanian –
This book is a touching story of a daughter’s unconditional love for her mother through a slow and treacherous illness. It’s also a story of the author and her mother’s combined courage, love, sensitivity and patience as they came to terms with her mother’s devastating condition through Alzheimer’s! It starts by opening a window into the early American life before and after the world war and how the normal American life was drastically altered by the war!
This book will be definitely be a godsend to those who have a loved one suffering from this painful illness and will make life easier, both for the sick loved one, and for their loving caregiver! The author goes into great detail on even the minutest things the caregiver can watch out for on a daily basis, so as to comfort, love and heal the body and soul of their loved one!
Apart from this, the book goes into the causes of stress that might have perhaps resulted in the illness, then to reducing the severity of the condition with medications, and on how to watch for early signs so as to mitigate the effects of this illness. But more important than all of this, this book conveys to all of us that we are not alone in our journey through life, and that there is always help and support which are available. All we need to do is ask, and to seek out the help! This can greatly reduce the burden of such challenging life situations and make everyone’s life a whole lot happier, even in the most troubling of times!
Susan Knox –
I bought this book because my mother has Alzheimer’s and I wanted to peer into the window of someone in my same situation. This book is so beautifully written! Some things I have already gone through with my mom, others we are in the midst of, and it gave me a glimpse of what is to come. I did a lot of crying, but in a good way. I read it in 3 days because it was so wonderful. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has a loved one with the disease!