One
of the hardest things for a caregiver to accept about Alzheimer’s as a
disease is the peculiar behavior that the patient may exhibit. Observing
them, the caregiver thinks, “Who is this person? He/She has NEVER done
anything like that before! How am I supposed to handle this? How would
other caregivers handle it?”
About The Book
The Seasons of Good-bye: An Alzheimer's Caregiver Journal
Even
if the AD caregiver is active in a support group, this is a book that
he or she will use for comfort and reassurance again and again while
taking the AD journey with a loved one. It’s good for AD caregivers to know that the peculiar behavior they see is not out of the norm for an AD patient. The true anecdotes in The Seasons of Good-bye help to reassure how common that type of behavior really is. For instance, there’s:
The mother who thought she was dressed correctly to go to the store wearing her bra on the outside of her clothes.
The husband who snuck the car out of the garage, drove into another state and only stopped when he ran out of gas.
The wife who, waiting in line at a fast-food restaurant, started to eat french fries from another customer's tray
The father who was sure that he could see his beloved herd of cows just outside of his care facility window - in town.
Then there are the everyday challenges caregivers face, including:
Dealing with the AD patient’s finances and legal issues
Making decisions that will profoundly affect the AD patient’s life regarding housing, possessions and medical care, to name just a few
Balancing work, family and self with the caregiver commitment
Managing the feelings that often accompany caregiving: anger, disbelief, vexation and exhaustion, to name a few
The Seasons of Good-bye features hundreds of anecdotes about AD caregiving, but is also practical, with:
Blank pages to jot notes or journal out feelings
A section to list all important phone numbers, addresses and contact names – everything in one place
Recommended readings
An Alzheimer’s resource list
And, a dollar from the sale of each book is donated to Alzheimer's research and outreach.
Thought for the week:
"One person caring about another represents life's greatest value."
